Sweeter than Honey
by Digitize27
Summary: At a time when Ranma is at his most vulnerable, and nobody else can really understand what he's going through, perhaps someone he least expected could be there for him. RanmaxKasumi
1. Surprises

I do not own the universe of Ranma ½ or any of the characters, fictional locations or ideas contained therein. Those belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I am also not making any money or profit out of this story. (If only)

* * *

He awoke in the usual manner, drenched in sweat and panting heavily, unsure of his surroundings or even his name. As per usual the feeling passed in the first few seconds and he drearily slumped back down onto the futon, knowing that it wouldn't make a difference. He stood up and stretched, the last few times he had attempted to go back to sleep but by now he knew that was useless. Instead he decided to make the most of the morning instead of lying there, half-awake, just waiting for his father to splash him with cold water and begin their morning training routine.

He looked down through bleary eyes at the dozing form of the panda in the futon next to his. A long time ago he had outgrown his father's training, easily surpassing him in skill and ability. He was sure that even if Genma started using the sealed techniques on his son it wouldn't make any difference. Nowadays he merely went along with the morning workout mostly out of routine and pity for his aging father.

He looked around at the small, simple room that had practically been his home for the last two years. Not a single thing had changed about the small guestroom in the time they had been staying there. No personal possessions on display or knick-knacks that showed any kind of character in the room. He guessed that, subconsciously, he still considered himself and his father nothing more than passing houseguests.

He made his way through the quiet, still sleeping household, not even having to use the Umi-Sen-Ken, even though he was in the perfect emotionless state to do so. He didn't want to wake anybody at this point, apart from the fact that whoever it was would be upset or angry, he just didn't want that kind of conflict right now. Surprisingly, as he made his way downstairs, he heard movement and activity in the kitchen.

Wary for possible burglars he crept his way in completely silently, alert for more movement. When he did enter he was relieved that all he found was Kasumi, going through her usual morning routine, cleaning the kitchen and just starting breakfast. She turned around to grab something from a drawer and saw Ranma; she was so surprised she dropped the plates she had been expertly carrying. Ranma dived forward and caught all of the plates with cat-like agility; unfortunately the irony was lost on everybody in the room.

"Thanks you Ranma; that might have awoken Father or my sisters." She was smiling warmly, something she seemed able to do no matter the situation. It was almost a miracle just how level-headed the eldest Tendo sister managed to stay even when the world around her was filled with chaos and disorder.

"No problem Kasumi, it was my fault anyway for making you jump." The older girl was actually a little startled at how easily Ranma put the blame on himself. From what she gathered in all his 'altercations' with Akane, both teens would generally try to shift the blame onto anybody but themselves. However usually with Akane that meant Ranma, leading to an impromptu flight across Tokyo for the pigtailed martial artist.

"Why are you up so early Ranma?" Kasumi really had never seen Ranma up in the twilight hours of the morning. He would normally fight for even a few extra seconds of sleep before morning training. Ranma wasn't sure how to answer; to tell someone he was having nightmares would make him sound weak. Then again, it was Kasumi; he didn't think she would change her opinion of him just because he was having nightmares.

"Had a nightmare." He didn't like the idea of lying to Kasumi and once he said it a weight seemed to lift off his shoulders. He was happy that she seemed unperturbed, maintaining her usual smile and decorum at the news. Internally she was just as uprooted as she had been by his apology. It was unheard of for Ranma to so openly admit a weakness like this, to anybody.

"Oh my, would you like something to help you sleep?" He just smiled weakly.

"Nah, I tried that already, nothing works once I'm up." She nodded understandingly, Nabiki had gone through something similar when their mother had died and nothing would put the poor girl back to sleep after a bad dream. Instead she had buried herself in school work in the time she was awake, growing confident with maths and accountancy. For a long time Kasumi had wished she could have done more for her younger sister, instead she had to sit back and watch as she grew colder and colder to the outside world, losing herself to a world of profiteering. And maybe that was also why Nabiki wasn't a morning person.

Ranma turned to leave the kitchen, no doubt to go outside to the dojo and train. People tended to try and lose themselves in the things they could do well, as long as it would take their minds off of what was troubling them. At the last moment before he left the young martial artist seemed to reconsider and turned back.

"Hey Kasumi, do ya want any help?" She nearly dropped the same plate, causing Ranma to lurch forward in case it fell. "Sorry, didn't mean to intrude or nothin'" She shook herself out of her shock.

"Oh no, that would actually be very much appreciated Ranma." She gave him her patented smile, hiding her thoughts. In her mind thoughts whirled around like a tornado. She wondered what was causing Ranma to behave so different than usual. In fact, it wasn't just that, nobody had ever offered to help Kasumi with anything before. Except for Akane of course, and whilst Kasumi appreciated her little sister trying to help, more often than not she was a hindrance, producing foodstuffs too toxic for human consumption.

Ranma moved in to help her and once again surprised her. She had believed by 'help' he had meant putting away dishes or maybe just a bit of tidying. Instead he dived right into the cooking, going over what was already there, quickly looking in the recipe books and continuing what he could. He moved with the same fluidity and grace one would expect from a kata or complicate manoeuvre. At first the older girl was wary, now unsure if they would have another Akane to deal with.

However when she followed his work, taste testing what was finished, she was delightfully surprised that everything tasted delicious. Like Akane, Ranma worked at the food with determination and vigour, but unlike the blue haired girl, Ranma understood that some things couldn't be rushed. She didn't know if it was the years of brutal training the boy had gone through or just his own personality, or a mix of the two, but Ranma was turning out to be a fine cook.

She went about the other things on her mental to-do list, now confident that at least Ranma was able to do the cooking. She finished a lot sooner than usual, so she watched Ranma for a while. Once or twice she had gone out to watch the boy practise his art; he was so absorbed he never noticed her. She was one of the only ones in the house who actually did so, so it wasn't surprising he wasn't expecting her to be there.

She now saw that same passion and love come through in the way he moved from one dish to the other. Each time he used controlled and precise movements that did just the right amount for what was needed. She realised she was gawking but had nothing better to do. She didn't want to leave Ranma all on his own in the kitchen but she didn't want to interrupt the delicate dance taking place before her.

He finished, actually smiling properly for the first time today and she smiled back, not her usual facade of a smile but a genuine one. She was actually grateful she had been allowed to witness what so few others would ever get to see. He saw her staring and started rubbing the back of his head in that way only Ranma could.

"Uh, did I kinda over do it a bit?" She continued to smile as she moved over and tasted some of the food he had prepared. For once it didn't surprise her that it tasted so good, not after the impressive display she had been allowed to witness. He nervously awaited her judgment, normally he wouldn't really mind how other's thought he did, his own approval was enough. This was different, he had never really cooked properly before and the only person he would really trust to critique him would be Kasumi.

Sure he had two fiancées who were professional chefs but their verdicts would be tainted by their own slightly warped views of him. Kasumi he at least trusted to be impartial and unbiased. He was shocked at how nerve wracking those few seconds, when Kasumi bent down to sip some of the sauce, were. She stood back up, her face still neutrally smiling, at least she hadn't reeled over gagging, and that was a good sign.

When she straightened back up he was afraid she didn't like it and his heart dropped a little, he had tried so hard after all. However her smile only broadened, becoming a grin.

"This is very good Ranma." It was a small compliment, not excellent or great, yet he still found it filling him with strange warmth. He realised it was the best thing that could have happened; now he could strive to be better.

"Thanks Kasumi, I'll do better next time!" She was startled; having thought this was a onetime only thing only to find out Ranma was actually planning on doing it again. Before she could inquire further he happily gathered up all of the food he had prepared and with ninja-like speed and skill he laid the table with one flip, end-to-end. He was so happy because he had finally found something he could once again improve in.

Ever since defeating Saffron at Jusendo, nothing had really challenged Ranma, skill-wise. Sure the old lech was still better than him but any serious fight he tried to have with the old man would end up with the pervert getting distracted and Ranma sucker-punching him. Even Cologne had backed off from Ranma, sensing his new ability and keeping to herself as much as possible. For once he had something that he could be a beginner again in, to improve and get better in. It was something he missed from his early days of travelling the road with his father.

Already the smells of breakfast were rousing the sleepy residents of the house and one by one they filed in, even as Ranma returned to the kitchen to clean up. Ranma wasn't one to shirk responsibility when he knew it was his, so he cleaned up the mess he had made. Kasumi actually had nothing else to do so she calmly walked to the table and sat down, awaiting her family. They were too tired to notice anything out of place, all they saw was Kasumi waiting for them, table already set with food, as per usual.

It was only when Genma walked down the stairs that anybody noticed something was amiss. There were no sounds of fighting or the inevitable splash from the Koi pond followed by a grumbling Panda.

"Has anybody seen Ranma?" Akane roused herself upon the news her fiancée was missing. However Kasumi surprised them all by happily answering the, for once, human Genma.

"He's just in the kitchen, tidying up."

"WHAT?!" It was a simultaneous shout from both Genma and Akane who quickly got up from the table and pounced at the door to the kitchen, unable to believe their ears. Nabiki got up in a more dignified fashion and followed them, just as curious to see if it as true. They were all equally stunned to see Ranma hurriedly scrubbing down the last of the dishes he had used and turning around, mildly bemused to see Akane and Genma, slack jawed.

"Morning guys." It was said happily, without any of the usual arrogance or macho attitude.

"Boy! What do you think you're doing?! Skipping morning practise to clean dishes, you'll go soft!" Ranma gracefully moved into an offensive fighting stance, the usual cocky grin adorning his features.

"Come and see just how soft I've gotten pops!" A few minutes later, after Genma had managed to haul himself out of the Koi pond it was only Akane who stood staring awkwardly at the pigtailed martial artist.

"Ranma, why are you cleaning dishes?" He smiled at her, still warmed from the experience this morning.

"Well I had to clean up after cooking." The blue-haired girls jaws practically smacked into the ground.

"You cooked?!" He just grinned stupidly at her before gracefully skirting around her to sit at the table where Genma started begrudgingly inching away from his son. Everybody was a little hesitant to start eating; not knowing how the food had turned out, but when Kasumi happily dug into the meal everybody lost their reservations and also tucked in. Akane sat down in a strop, arms angrily crossed over her chest.

"I'm not eating that, it's probably toxic!" Everybody at the dinner table sweat dropped, already anticipating the fight. It would have been amusing to see the roles reversed like this if they didn't fear the resultant property damage.

"Whatever." Ranma merely shrugged and everybody sighed in relief, albeit quietly so Akane wouldn't hear. He didn't know why but this morning Ranma just didn't feel like fighting, even if Akane was really asking for it. After getting no usual response of tomboy or uncute she had no other choice but to tentatively try the food.

She was more than annoyed when she could find no fault with it. It wasn't on par with Kasumi's cooking but it was hardly inedible or even bad. Nothing was burnt or slowly melting through the table and she was more than a little jealous. Maybe even a little unnecessarily offended.

"Are you sure you made this Ranma?" Once again Ranma had to bite back the usual retort, but thankfully he was saved by Kasumi.

"Oh yes, he was quite interesting to watch in fact" Akane turned imploringly to her older sister.

"But Kasumi, you never let me help out in the kitchen anymore!" Without any hint of malice or sarcasm in her voice she merely turned to her sister with the same warm smile.

"We just can't afford all the new kitchen equipment anymore." Ranma made the unfortunate error of snickering at the remark. He mentally berated himself; he had been doing so well so far and had screwed it all up with that one laugh.

"What was that Ranma?!" He paled and shot up from the table.

"Um, lookatthat, timeforschool, gottago, bye!" He rushed out of the house with Akane hot on his tail but just managed to shout out before they were too far gone. "Thanks for letting me cook Kasumi!" The other members of the table all just stared at the older girl a moment, curious looks on their faces even as the cries of 'Ranma get back here!' faded into the distance.

"Oh my."


	2. One of those days

It wasn't the usual casual walk to school atop the railing for Ranma today; instead he was forced to sprint the entire way there. It was incredible, he was faster, more agile, and more nimble than the blue-haired girl chasing him but she still managed to keep up with him, the giant hammer ever present in her hands. He attempted to lose her more than a few times, he wanted to get to school quickly for once but not if that meant taking 'Air Akane'.

Eventually he rounded a corner and slipped into the Umi-Sen-Ken, gratefully watching as Akane ran steaming past. He couldn't understand it; it had never taken something as trivial as this to set her off in such a manner. Of course she might become angry every now and then when she caught him in incriminating positions; at least that he could attempt to understand. All he did today was help out her sister and only slightly mock her food, which to be fair could actually be classified more as hazardous chemicals than actual edible substance.

'_Maybe if she tasted her own food after cooking it once in a while...'_ No, he banished such thoughts; they weren't going to help him out of this situation. Instead he just decided to suck it up and apologise for once, he guessed he should at least try and be a bit more encouraging for once. Maybe he could get her to try harder instead of just mocking her and causing her anger ever time. He smiled briefly, now when had he become the one to so openly admit to themselves they were in the wrong?

He had to revaluate his own position; perhaps the two years under the Tendo roof had changed him more than he originally thought. He moved on towards the school with a bit more bounce in his step, convincing himself over and over in his mind that today of all days was going to be a good day, even if he had to make it that way. Crossing the school gates without the hated cry of "Ah, the vile sorcerer Saotome has finally come to meet his end at the hands of the blue thunder of Furinkan High!" only convinced him that it would be so.

Kuno's graduation from Furinkan could honestly be said to be one of Ranma's happiest moments that he could remember. The relief of him leaving and taking his love-crazed, emphasis on the crazed, sister with him brought a smile to the young martial artist's face every time he thought about it. Luckily, despite the distraction Akane's chase had posed, when he looked up at the large clock face on the front of the building he saw that he wouldn't be late today, a strange but not wholly unwelcome change of events.

He managed to even elicit a small smile of surprise from Miss Hinako when he entered the classroom on time. He even surprised himself when he sat down and saw that he wasn't even the last one into the class. There were only a small trickle of students who came in after him but that was more than usual. Akane was among them, she looked red-faced and panted heavily so he assumed she must have been running around looking for him long after he lost her.

When she did see him it was a mixture of confusion at his promptness and anger at him ditching her. The result was a look that could have sent chills into even the most stoic sailors. As it was Ranma just offered up a small but genuine smile in return, trying to edit out the usual cockiness that he knew drove Akane mad. This at least caught the girl off guard, as it did many of the other girls in the class who caught the genuine smile.

Ranma at least went up in the eyes of more than a few girls that day as they took stock of the seemingly new boy that had been so set in one image for the last two years. And throughout the rest of the morning he caught the occasional dreamy glance sent his way, something that unnerved him more than any Dragon Prince or Phoenix God ever could. Surprisingly it was Ukyo who rushed in just as the bell went for lessons to begin, apologising in a barely intelligible stream of words.

Ranma just figured it had something to do with Konatsu, whenever Ukyo was this distraught it was generally because of the gender-confused ninja. If he had to place a bet with Nabiki he would say it was Konatsu messing up something in the breakfast rush that Ukyo had to stay a bit later to fix. From what he understood from his friend he could be a real nightmare when left to his own devices. Apparently gender wasn't the only thing that confused Konatsu.

Despite what Ranma had promised himself earlier the morning went far too much like it usually would. No matter how hard he tried to focus on what the young-looking teacher before him was saying he couldn't stop his mind from wandering to the most trivial of things. The distractions mounted and he barely absorbed any of what was being said but at least for once he didn't fall asleep. Somehow his mind drifted onto the morning and the joy he had felt with the simple task of cooking and the resulting praise from Kasumi.

It was almost like his mind hated him as it continued to fixate on that one point in his day as he nervously watched Kasumi bend down to sip some of the sauce he prepared. He offhandedly noticed the way her hair fell about her shoulders when she did so, as well as the way her lips pursed ever so slightly as she took in the thick red sauce. He shocked himself out of his almost drunken stupor and looked around the classroom, where he was getting more than a few odd looks.

With an internal moan he realised he had been unintentionally staring dreamily into the back of Ukyo's head. Somehow the Okonomiyaki Chef had managed to miss it but unfortunately Akane wasn't quite so unobservant. Currently she was staring daggers at him with eyes so cold she could have stopped one of Saffron's attacks in its tracks. Most of the other looks he was getting were of amusement from the guys and, he noted with a gulp, jealousy from the girls.

Now that he wasn't lost in his own thoughts reality began catching up to him and he quickly realised just how hungry he was. Not having his father fight with him for every last morsel of food had allowed him to eat at a more sedate pace. Unfortunately he had forgotten to account for the fact that Akane chasing him out meant he couldn't finish his breakfast. This was a fact that was announced to the entire class when his stomach let out a startling grumble of disapproval.

There were a few giggles and light elbow nudges but Miss Hinako managed to quiet everybody down and continue with the lesson. Akane just smirked at him with contempt and finally turned back around, happy that Ranma was receiving some kind of punishment for whatever wrong she had managed to twist in her head he had committed. His stomach continued to protest throughout the rest of the morning and his good mood quickly evaporated, disappointing a few of the people who had noticed the welcome change in the pigtailed teen.

When the bell finally rang for the lunch break, one teen couldn't be happier as he shot up from his seat, only to quickly sink back down with a very audible groan. In the rush this morning he not only managed to miss half his breakfast but he also forgot to grab a lunch. Nabiki had recently cleared him out of all his loose change in one of her schemes so going to the school shop was out of the question.

He remained in the seat for a while, grumbling pitiful things into his chest as his eyes grew darker. What had really started out as a great morning had really managed to deteriorate into what could be called another piece of the rest of his life. Very luckily for him, at least one of his friends was there for him in situations like this and when everybody else had filtered out of the room Ukyo happily bounced over to him, evidently out of the bad mood she was in earlier.

"Hey Ranchan." She shot him a cheeky smile. "I noticed you don't have any lunch today, care for me to whip you up your favourite seafood Okonomiyaki?" He smiled gratefully at her, something that still managed to make his oldest friend blush, even after so long.

"Thanks Ucchan, missed breakfast this morning." She giggled a bit, looking at his stomach.

"Yeah, me and the rest of Furinkan noticed." It was his turn to blush even as her faced turned a bit more serious. "Was it Akane? I noticed her shooting looks at you all morning, well worse looks than usual." Ranma decided that it wasn't the best idea to pit his fiancées against one another right now and he really didn't want Ukyo squaring off with Akane.

"Nah, you know Akane, same as always, it was just Pops an' his stupid training." He hoped that the neutral figure of his father, somebody he knew Ukyo already despised, would be enough but the Okonomiyaki chef was unconvinced. However she at least seemed satisfied and was happy enough to walk down to the schoolyard with Ranma, already getting her supplies ready. Outside he instantly scanned the vicinity, immediately noticing Akane off in one corner under a tree with her friends. Silently telling him she had no intention of even making an effort to relieve his hunger.

She didn't look too pleased right now so he figured an apology could wait until later when she had time to cool off a bit. He knew that was complete bull, Akane only grew angrier with time but he convinced himself against that just so he wouldn't have to face the confrontation just yet. Ukyo led him over to the opposite corner and started to cook. His mouth was watering before she even put the batter down but it was well deserved as she placed a freshly made, delicious-smelling okonomiyaki in his hands.

He was so absorbed in the immaculate piece of food-art in front of him that he only had milliseconds to dodge when his danger sense went off and a large mallet struck the ground where he had been only moments before. It shattered the concrete below it and with a genuine look of fear Ranma realised that it may have actually seriously injured him. An attack strong enough to shatter concrete could have done the same to his bones or organs. Akane was still gripping the mallet, even more furious that Ranma had actually dared to dodge her attack instead of take what she felt he more than deserved.

"I should have known you'd be over with one of your floozies Ranma." She shot an equally hateful glare at Ukyo who simply returned it.

"All he was doing was enjoying some of my cooking Akane-honey." Despite the sweet words her voice was laced with venom. "Unless you're deaf you could not have missed the fact he's hungry, and he does have the right to eat. Something he can't do with you and your horrific creations." Ranma could quickly see this was just going to escalate out of control. Normally he would try and act as peacemaker but a tiny voice in the back of his mind, something that hadn't been heard from for a while, managed to convince him that every time he did so things would only get worse.

Akane and Ukyo were about five minutes into their angered bickering before either realised that Ranma wasn't even there anymore. Akane grew redder when she noticed he had run away while Ukyo just looked confused.

"Oh great, you made Ranchan run away Akane. Great going." Akane just glared before she took off in the direction Sayuri saw him leave in. Ukyo was quickly in pursuit, not wanting to let Akane hurt her Ranchan.

* * *

Ranma didn't think it was the bravest, or as his mother might put it 'most manly' thing he could have done, but something just wasn't clicking in him today. The part of him that used to thrive off of conflict wasn't in its right state and he just couldn't face the resulting verbal fight between two people he honestly did care about. As he walked away from the school, convinced that if he went back he'd only make things worse, he started thinking about Ukyo.

Whenever he did so he always found a smile crept onto his face. It wasn't for the normal reasons that a teenage boy would be smiling when thinking about a girl, it was because of all the fond memories he had for his first and oldest friend. Memories that he found were increasingly sullied as time went on. Increasingly he found that he was having difficulty picking through his thoughts to find nice ones about Ukyo, especially as she was further pulled into the broiling conflict of the fiancées.

It had hurt Ranma deeply to have found out about her involvement in the wedding fiasco and whilst he had forgiven her quickly, something changed about her in his eyes. It also disappointed him when she started to become petty and use their friendship almost in the same way Shampoo used her village laws, as leverage over him. Whilst he could understand she was just trying to keep up he at least had hoped she would be above such emotional blackmail.

He sighed even as he did latch onto a few good memories of his childhood; Ukyo would always be a friend for him, that at least he knew would never change. In a way that would make it all the harder to admit he had no romantic feelings for her. In his mind she would always be that friend, perhaps even one day he could come to think of her as a sister but beyond that, he just didn't know anymore.

It also slightly frightened him how she saw their futures together, whilst it was true Ranma never really put much thought into what he wanted to do, the who fiasco with the moxibustion had convinced him it definitely was not going to be working in a restaurant, taking care of children the rest of his life. So lost in his thoughts he only just managed to hear the ominous ring of a bicycle bell before something painfully knocked him to the ground.

"Nihao Airen, you not in school to take Shampoo on date, yes?" He groaned, mostly because of the large bike wedged between his shoulder blades but partly because of what he was now going to have to deal with.

"Heya Shampoo, no I'm not coming to take you on a date. I was just thinking." The lovestruck Amazon took on a dreamy stare, even as she somehow managed to work herself into a hug with Ranma without him even noticing.

"Airen thinking about Shampoo?" He desperately tries to disengage the iron-like grip the lavender-haired teen managed to pull him in to. Knowing his luck this was right about the time somebody showed up and-

"Ranma you pervert! What are you doing with Shampoo!?"

"Ranchan, I thought I was the cute fiancée." Shampoo decided that the arrival of the other two girls wasn't a good enough reason to let go of her love, what with her getting so few opportunities to be around him.

"Airen come to take Shampoo on date!" She said it with such glee and conviction that if he hadn't been on the receiving end of a glomp Ranma might have even been inclined to believe her. He tried one last ditch effort to free himself from the otherwise unbreakable hug but only managed to free an arm before being sent soaring by Air Akane. All he could do was sigh and wait for the inevitable impact, most likely in water knowing his luck and the way his curse seemed to act like a magnet for such bodies of liquid.

Before he could fly out of sight he caught the beginnings of a particularly savage squabble between the three girls, each with some claim on him that even two years couldn't break. He was going to have to solve this situation soon but if he couldn't figure out a way in the time he had already been given then he didn't know how more was going to help.

* * *

He wasn't even angry as he stood there; ringing out his shirt at the side of the pond he had miraculously landed in and thus turned him into a girl. Right now he was too tired so it was more disappointed annoyance, one day; that was all he ever asked for. One day of normalcy, one day when he wasn't glomped, attacked, malleted, threatened with sepukku, guilted, forced to rescue someone or uphold his honour and the honour of his family. It didn't even register with him that an eighteen year old boy shouldn't have to deal with such problems as it was all he had ever known.

That wasn't to say he accepted it or was happy with it, far from it. He knew that he probably had the worst luck in Tokyo, except maybe Ryoga, but even then the lost boy had some respite whenever he turning into a pig. He didn't know if it was the gods playing some cruel but somehow cosmically funny game with him, or perhaps his chaos and pain served some higher purpose he couldn't see. Either way he just wanted it to stop and give him one single day where he could go to school and just act like a normal teenager.

Of course whatever it was that had caused all this in the first place seemed naturally indignant the boy would even dare question their judgment and as punishment sent him two new pains to play with. Pains in the forms of a white robe-clad Chinese boy and a yellow and black clad part-time piglet.

"Saotome, you will die today and relinquish your evil hold over my fair Shampoo!"

"Prepare to die Ranma!" He held up a hand as he continued to wring out his shirt which confused the two boys vying for his life. Ryoga shook his head as his glare became even deeper. "Your mind games won't work on me Ranma!"

The aforementioned teen merely stood up and sighed, wearily looking at the two boys who wanted him dead daily, but merely lacked the means or ability to do so. With a slight hint of disgust he realised that these two were the closest things to male friends he had and on so many levels he realised that was just sad.

"I'm not playing mind games with you Ryoga; I just don't like fighting in wet clothes." The eternally lost boy's grimace only increased as he took in his rival's rather flippant approach to his death threat. Like it was an insult Ranma wasn't cowering in fear of Ryoga's might. Ranma appraised the pair once again, noticing they had obviously come together. "So you guys teamed up again? Didn't that go horribly wrong last time?" It seemed to be Mousse's turn to speak now.

"That was a while ago Saotome and we have both improved greatly since then!" Rama grew moderately annoyed when he realised Mousse was addressing the bush next to Ranma as opposed to the martial artist himself.

"Hey duck boy, I'm over here. You ever considered getting your eyes fixed? They do have technology for that in this country. Maybe you wouldn't miss me as much!" He couldn't believe he was actually giving his 'enemy' tips on how to defeat him but right now he figured the kid would at least be less irritating. "Look guys, could we do this some other time? I'm really not in the mood." Ryoga beamed and for a single fleeting second Ranma actually believed the boy might have had a change of heart.

He should have known better by now.

"I always knew you were a coward Ranma! Ever since you ran out on our fight!" Ranma's shoulders slumped, he shouldn't get his hopes up like that; maybe he was just too trusting for his own good. Ryoga took this momentary change as a sign to begin attacking, however Ranma was true on his word; he really didn't feel like fighting. Instead he casually side-stepped the clumsy attack, pivoted and roughly pushed Ryoga into the lake behind them.

It wasn't the most honourable defeat he thought as the small bandana-clad piglet rose to the surface but it would have to do. He also wasn't particularly proud of his next move but he figured it would be the simplest way to remove Mousse as a contender for now. Casually he picked up a small pebble and flicked it with immense skill and accuracy at the boy's glasses. Being the sometimes blind boy he is Mousse couldn't even dodge as the small stone smacked him in the face, cracking his glasses and leaving him useless as a fighter without the ability to aim.

Ranma sighed and sank even further as he walked away from the snarling piglet and cursing Amazon. Things like the occasional scuffle with Mousse and Ryoga never got to him like this before; maybe it was all just starting to pile up on his shoulders. He remembered hearing a wise saying from a master on one of his many journeys in China. 'I would carry a boulder any day than a thousand pebbles.' That sounded about right for how Ranma was feeling now.

He decided against going back to school, even if that had gotten him in trouble last time, but instead of meandering aimlessly he at least set himself a destination. He figured at least at home he'd be safe from Akane for a little while and could train to take his mind of things like usual. He didn't head in a straight line over the rooftops like usual, instead he wandered through the streets, not really paying attention to anything in particular.

A while ago he may have been distressed or embarrassed by all the looks guys gave his female form but he learned to tune them out. It had done wonders for his self esteem and ability to tolerate his cursed form. Tolerate may not be the best word for it any more, if anything Ranma had actually accepted his other half, as that's all it was. It was him, just with a different look. His personality didn't change, so why should he really care?

He knew why, it was everybody else that cared. The way people looked at him like some kind of freak or how Akane called him a pervert. The very first image of the time the Tendo's had seen his curse in action would be burned into his memory forever. The abject fear at this strangeness that drove the two older girls to instantly reject him without even getting to know him first, how it made him feel like an outsider, like a freak.

Occasionally he would regress back to that but for now he was fairly comfortable like this, it really wasn't that big an inconvenience. Anyway, as far as he knew there wasn't a cure. If Taro was anything to go on then submerging yourself in another spring only mixed the effects. Ranma would rather be stuck a girl forever than a hideous amalgamation of the two genders. Better to be two genders one at a time than two genders at the same time. He tried to move his thoughts to something that didn't make him want to fire off a massive Shishi Hokoudan but, crushingly, he couldn't find anything even remotely bright to latch onto.

His shoulders were sagging low by the time he reached the Tendo house and he had managed to garner a little respect for Ryoga if this was how he felt all the time. He could even understand briefly why he was always so intent on taking out his frustrations on him. Something to beat up right about now would feel pretty good. Speaking of a punching bag he spotted Genma sitting out on his own, for once not absorbed in cheating his way to winning a game of Shogi or Go with Soun.

"Heya Pops" The man swivelled, obviously confused by something.

"Boy, you're supposed to be in school!" Ranma grimaced and his fist clenched subconsciously.

"Yeah, that wasn't really working out today, wanna spar?" Genma gulped, as much as he enjoyed a chance to beat his son and prove he was still the better martial artist, he knew it wasn't so. Recently he had noticed that Ranma needed less and less effort to beat him, and it was starting to become slightly more vicious than it used to be. He wasn't sure if it was something to do with Ranma or how his other fights were starting to turn but Genma didn't like getting thrown around the back garden.

"No thanks son, I've already trained enough today." Ranma snorted, he knew it wasn't true and the old man was just covering his own ass but he let it slide. It did leave him rather frustrated however, now he was going to have to vent them the old fashioned way. On his way out he turned, hesitantly looking back at his old man who had gone back to whatever thoughts possessed him during the day.

"Hey Pop?"

"What is it my boy?" Genma stared at him curiously as he fought for the right words.

"Can we, you know, talk for a bit?" The older man seemed genuinely startled; the two hadn't really 'talked' for a long time, not since the early days of their training trip. For the briefest moment he considered it, before the infuriating part of his mind that had a hand in moulding Ranma into what he is today took charge.

"Talk boy? Men don't talk. You leave the chit chat to the women. You want to be a man among men then start acting like it!" He smiled as if it were the only thing he could have said in that situation. Once again that day Ranma had gotten his hopes up only for them to be dashed against the ground, over and over. His eyes narrowed into a stare that made Genma immediately douse himself with water and enter what the other's liked to call 'don't mind the cuddly panda' mode.

Ranma just walked out in disgust, only for him to accidently bump into his mother. He was surprised for a moment, firstly because he was so wrapped up in his thoughts he hadn't noticed her and secondly because he thought she was off dealing with contractors about the house for a few days. She wasn't supposed to be back for a few days at least.

"Mom?" She smiled sweetly at him but he couldn't help but drift his gaze toward the package, innocently enough slung over her back.

"Son, you know what I think about you walking around in that form don't you?" His head dropped, one of the other people who could emotionally hammer him into guilt about something he had no real control over.

"Um, yeah, I was just going to, um, you know, deal with it." He hated the way his mother managed to make him twist his own words with only a smile. He didn't loathe his curse in the way he used to, sure he would take an opportunity at a cure if it came around but until then he was fairly content, why couldn't others? Everyone else got to make use of their curses so why was he the only one not allowed to?

"Oh good, I won't keep you any longer, can't have my manly son walking around as a girl all day can I?" Ranma didn't know what it was, maybe there was a full moon tonight, or perhaps he really was hopelessly trusting he had decided on one more shot.

"Hey Mom, what if there is no cure for this?" That firmly halted Nodoka in her tracks "Would you hold me to the seppuku contract? If by chance I was stuck like this no matter what?" His mother was shocked, never had they really had a proper talk about the agreement before, she could tell something was different about her son that day but couldn't place it. Actually she had hoped for a long time that this conversation would happen, she just thought that if she brought it up he would be scared of her.

Of course she wouldn't hold him to such a barbaric contract, the very idea of making her own son, who she had only reconnected with after so many years apart, commit suicide was sickening. Yet it was the only way to ensure that Ranma would come back to her safe. Even though she wanted to scream all this out to him, like it was beyond her very control, her mouth moved in well practised sentences, on auto-pilot.

"Don't speak like that son, you will find a cure for your terrible curse, I'm sure of it." She actually wanted to break out weeping when she saw the tiny flicker of hope in Ranma's eyes get trodden on until it might as well have been extinguished. She had no clue what possessed her to say such a thing, when her mind screamed at her something else, but the damage was done. Her son had finally reached out to her, looking for some kind of emotional stability and she had thrown it back at him because it was what came easily.

Ranma walked away from her, shoulders slumped and head held low, he never saw but she held her arm out a little as he left and a small tear rolled down her cheek.


	3. An offer you couldn't refuse

It was with a weary heart and body that Ranma finally made it into the kitchen, slumping like a dead weight into a chair. Kasumi, interrupted from her chores, immediately rushed over, fearing that Ranma had been injured in one of his many fights again. She had the first aid kit on stand-by but when she made a move to go and get it the teen simply raised his hand to stop her.

"I'm not hurt Kasumi, don't worry about it." At least satisfied that he wasn't hurt physically Kasumi sat down opposite the young martial artist and took him in. His voice had sounded weak, with none of the usual strength and confidence that backed it up. His posture was slouched and defeated, as if every cell in his body had given up. It was his eyes that were the worst, she looked into them, even if he didn't return the gaze, and what she saw was heartbreaking.

"Ranma, what's the matter?" He managed to lift his head and utter two words that had an even greater effect on the girl than his eyes had.

"The usual."

It was said with such despair and hopelessness Kasumi actually wanted to cry from the sheer emotion behind that simple phrase. She contained herself, it would do Ranma no good right now if she were to break down in front of him; it would only make him feel worse. She just couldn't imagine what sick gods would put all this pressure atop an eighteen year old boy's shoulders. More amazingly she couldn't understand how Ranma had bore the weight without cracking under the combined weight of his life already. Ranma had to be stronger than anyone gave him credit for.

Kasumi hated to do this but she still had her various chores to do, whilst Ranma was an important part of her life now she was still a homemaker first. She stood up and turned back around, at least confident that Ranma wasn't going anywhere and she could help him later. However as she made a move toward the counter to start preparing lunch for the other occupants of the house she noticed him move.

He stood up and she turned back to him, noticing that some of the old mask had slipped back onto his face. Even so he spoke with a lot of hesitation and look in his eyes told her that he wasn't expecting great results.

"Hey Kasumi, do you want any help with that?" Again his voice nearly broke her heart; that he would go through all of this, nearly crack under the strain and still be his usual selfless self, it was almost unthinkable. For a fleeting second she couldn't stop the thought that went flashing through her mind _'I don't understand how Akane can always put him in a negative light' S_he shook away the thought and smiled as warmly as she could.

"Of course Ranma, you did such an excellent job with breakfast this morning." He visibly brightened a bit and for once she was glad that even her words could help him. It made her own smile brighter to think that even her praise could have such a resounding impact on the young man before her. Just like in the morning Ranma threw himself into the work set out before him, more than happy to lose himself to the simple task of cooking and preparing food.

Compared to the rest of his life it was a moment of ease and comfort where he could focus on one thing at a time and forget the plethora of other problems that usually clouded his mind. It helped that every time he did something right he would receive the warmest smile from Kasumi, doubling his resolve to do even better. Suddenly he found all his frustrations leaking out into the food he was cooking, leaving him refreshed and renewed.

Kasumi also noticed the subtle change, whilst Ranma had gone about the cooking with his usual determination he hadn't put his heart into it. As time went on and he kept on with it she could see that change as his step became lighter and his movements more fluid. It was almost as if he was beginning to train and first had to stretch off before he could begin in full. It was almost saddening when they had finished and Ranma had nothing left to do.

She feared for a moment he would regress back to how he had arrived here but after his shoulders sagged for a moment a flash of resolve crossed his eyes that made him stand up straighter. Internally Kasumi found herself breathing a mental sigh of relief; it unnerved her to see Ranma acting so different. At least now he seemed to be on the road to recovery. He then looked up at her expectantly, the small flicker of hope in his eyes starting to grow as more and more fuel was tossed on.

"So Um Kasumi, how did I do?" Once again, just like in the morning she reached down to try some of the food and Ranma watched on with one part eagerness and one part trepidation. She stood back up, her smile now as genuine as it had ever been.

"It's wonderful Ranma, even better than this morning." The boy seemed to inflate at her words, filled almost with a new hope as he finally found something he might be able to use as a release from everyday life.

"Thanks Kasumi, now I can see why you can manage to stay so calm and serene all the time. It's really relaxing." Kasumi probably wouldn't admit it but cooking for her was anything but relaxing, she always felt like Ranma had appeared when she was trying the food. Every day she feared her family wouldn't like the food she had prepared for them, but for Ranma to find it actually relaxing, well, she couldn't imagine how stressful the rest of his life must be. He turned to start laying out the food but stopped in the doorway.

"Hey Kasumi, maybe you could teach me how to cook properly, after all you're the best one I know." Kasumi couldn't stop herself blushing at the compliment, especially from somebody who had two professional chefs for fiancées. She managed to control herself but the smile from Ranma after seeing the blush just set it off all over again. When he did leave she berated herself for acting so immature around him, even if it did improve both their moods.

Even so she couldn't remove the new smile now firmly fixed on her face; she just hoped nobody would notice. Usually Nabiki was the only observant on in the house but with her off at University during the day she wasn't around to worry about. Somehow the girl had managed to balance her new workload with keeping the family solvent enough to get by and Kasumi could never thank her enough for it. She sat down at the table next to an equally smiling Ranma and waited for the rest of their families to start trickling in.

The next few days saw a return to what was considered normal in Nerima. Ranma was at least partially back to his old self. At the same time however he continued his self-imposed mandate to be nicer to those around him, especially Akane. It was unfortunate that he was the only thing to change, his fiancées and rivals were just as persistent as ever and Akane still treated him exactly the same. That wasn't strictly true; in fact she had begun to treat him with even more suspicion and jealousy than usual, unsure of what to do with his more upbeat and friendly attitude but certain he was hiding something she had to punish him for.

While all his usual hardship and exhausting life continued on course Ranma at least had something to look forward to. Every morning he would awake nice and early, vault the stairs and help Kasumi out with the cooking. She in turn began to give him pointers and tips on what he could do better. She was amazed, but not all that surprised, at how well he incorporated her every word of advice into the cooking. She knew just how adaptable Ranma was with his art, so why shouldn't that carry over into his everyday life?

Then Ranma would go to school, he had begun to get a bit better at that actually. Every day he made sure to get a full breakfast so there were no distractions and managed to keep himself awake throughout the morning. The change was welcomed by all his teachers, especially Miss Hinako, who he had surprised one morning by getting her a lollipop. Everyone but Akane was caught up in the teen's continued and infectious good moods; she only became more frustrated as she couldn't figure out its cause.

It was almost a miracle to those around him that Ranma managed three days in a row without having to leave school early, his grades even picked up slightly. Whether or not that was for better or worse remained to be seen. While he was improving in school his teachers finally saw that his previously bad grades weren't stemming from a lack of understanding, but a lack of care and attendance.

The teachers really clamped down on misbehaviour in school, determined to continue Ranma's streak now that he at least seemed to be paying attention. Miss Hinako especially tolerated no antics in the classroom, adamant to help the boy however she could. At first Ranma wasn't sure if this was good or bad but when his grades improved and he found it didn't really take that much more effort than usual his moods only improved.

After school he would rush straight back home, dealing with the occasional challenge if he had to, and quickly plough through his homework in times that would make Nabiki boggle. He didn't necessarily get it all right but it was a marked improvement. After that he would train until Kasumi called for him like he had asked her to. When he put his heart into something he put it all in so he worked on his cooking in the evenings as well as the mornings.

Akane continued to stew as his skills increased and his food became even better. She despaired inwardly that the same couldn't be said for her own cooking, or at least that was what everybody seemed to tell her. For her part she couldn't really see what the fuss was about, it couldn't possibly taste that bad. She only tried to make the recipes a bit more exciting, who says you shouldn't add Peruvian puff pepper to oatmeal? It should give it more kick right?

Unfortunately for the blue-haired girl she had no way to vent in that whole week as, try as she might, nothing the pigtailed boy did was something she could twist to give her a reason to hit him. It probably helped that Shampoo seemed to have backed off, at least for a little while. Her frustrations only grew as Ranma continued to act cheerfully while she was left behind, for some reason unable to join in on his good moods.

To Ranma's credit it wasn't for lack of trying, he had been on his best behaviour around Akane the entire week, not once insulting her or responding to her own jibes. There was even a frightening moment in the middle of the week where Akane had offered Ranma some of her own food, sure that he would just refuse so she finally could have a reason to hit him. Instead, with a very much forced smile he actually took a bite, surprising everybody in the room.

He had turned a number of amusing colours before he politely excused himself to go to the bathroom. Kasumi wouldn't forget the noises of Ranma violently throwing up for the rest of the night very soon. She wasn't even certain he had swallowed that one bite. It was by luck alone that Akane had missed the whole episode, instead she was lost in her own thoughts about the whole affair. Kasumi merely hoped this wouldn't encourage her to start cooking again, she had meant it when they said they couldn't afford any more kitchen-ware for the blue-haired menace to experiment with.

Over the week, under Kasumi's tutoring, Ranma grew better and better with his 'new art', but something else started happening. The pigtailed boy started to realise just how much Kasumi did around the house. While he cooked under her watchful eye she would go about with her other chores, making sure to order them so that she could be around Ranma as much as possible when he cooked.

Other times she would be scrubbing down the Furo, hanging out the laundry, cleaning, ironing, bringing everybody their clothes for the day, talking to the builders about the various property damages, and much more. It was almost mind-boggling what she had to go through every day and even though Ranma wouldn't say he had it easy by comparison it was still enough to give him pause. Yet she did all this with nary a frown on her face and a skip in her walk, in fact, with the cooking being taken care of for once her normally impenetrable serenity seemed only to increase.

Ranma also found himself unconsciously watching Kasumi as she worked, not even realising it half the time. His eyes would just drift away from what he was doing and start to watch as she cleaned or tidied. Most of the time it would cause him to almost make a mistake in what he was doing, eliciting a small giggle from the older girl, which in turn, would cause him to blush bright red. He didn't know exactly what it was about her, but the way she moved with the same confidence as he did was entrancing.

He had no idea that was exactly what Kasumi saw as she watched Ranma cook; it was heartening to see him so lost in a passion in the same way he was with martial arts. In a way, to the gentle girl, it was even better as, while she knew Ranma only ever used his skills in self defence or the protection of others, at least cooking didn't involve violence. It allowed her to appreciate the graceful movements and show of skill all the more.

It was approaching the end of the week and Ranma had earned a deep respect for the quiet girl who kept most of their lives flowing without anybody really noticing or appreciating it. He had resolved to change that, at least for one day. He cautiously approached the older woman, now unsure of how he could start this as he stood there, listening to her hum some tune he faintly recognised. She solved his problem for him as she turned around, still with her serene smile and warm eyes.

"Oh hello Ranma, is there something I can do for you?" He laughed, he couldn't help it. With what he was coming to ask her only to get that response, it was just ironic. Kasumi politely waited for him to finish, now curious about his intentions.

"No Kasumi, there's nothing you can do for me, you've done enough." She smiled warmly, not quite sure what he meant but grateful for the sentiment anyway. He looked a bit more nervous now, not entirely sure how Kasumi would take what he had to say next.

"I was thinkin' Kasumi, that you do so much around here, you know that, um-" She giggled as the increasingly red teen in front of her continued to stumble over his words.

"Yes Ranma?" He shook himself and managed to find his grasp on Japanese once more.

"Well, I was wonderin' if I could give you a day off." She actually slipped her cheerful facade for a moment to exchange it for puzzlement. For a moment Ranma feared he had upset of somehow insulted Kasumi, or that the Saotome foot-in-mouth disease had started acting up.

"Whatever do you mean Ranma?" He smiled sheepishly.

"Well I noticed that you're always lookin' after us and stuff so I thought it was only fair you got a day off every once in awhile to enjoy yourself. I'd do all the housework and everything so you could just do what you want to." She smiled at him, gratefully but shook her head sadly, even if the offer was tempting.

"Sorry Ranma, but there's just so much to do around here, you wouldn't know where to start." His resolve hardened even as a smile started sprouting out of the corner of his mouth.

"So make me a list." She faltered a little and he took that opportunity to continue. "Don't worry about the house for once Kasumi, I'll handle it, just have a day to yourself." His smile alone was enough to make Kasumi reconsider, in the last week she had gotten to know the boy better than she admittedly had in the past two years she had lived with him. In that time she had found out that not much could stand up to Ranma when he was determined.

"Well, if it was all being taken care of-" Ranma's smile turned into a beaming grin.

"Great, you won't regret this Kasumi. Draw me up a list of things that'll have to be done tomorrow and start thinking about what you want to do." She tried to protest weakly.

"Tomorrow? But that's not enough time. What about-?" He cut her off with another heart warming smile.

"Like I said, don't worry about it, be a little selfish for once." And she was inclined to believe him as he strode away, merrily whistling the same tune that Kasumi had only moments ago been humming herself. She stood stock still for a while, still unsure if everything that just happened was real or if she was dreaming. She walked back to her room, worriedly rubbing her hands across one another as she thought about the implications of what tomorrow would bring.

A single tear escaped her eyes, something that hadn't happened in the decade since her mother's death and as soon as that particular floodgate had a crack, the torrent that followed was inevitable. She didn't know exactly why she was crying, and she knew it wasn't from sadness but then a realisation hit her that briefly stopped the tears from flowing. She was crying because that was the nicest thing anybody had done for her in so long that she could barely remember the last time.

* * *

Ranma woke early as usual, immediately bouncing to his feet with a goofy smile plastered to his face. He bounced through the house just as cheerfully but without making a sound. When he got downstairs he fully expected Kasumi to already be up, wasting her day off. He couldn't degrade her dedication after all. However he was pleasantly surprised to find the kitchen and all of the other downstairs rooms nicely Kasumi-free.

In fact Kasumi had woken just as early as Ranma had and had been about to move out of bed before she remembered what Ranma was doing for her again. It was with moderate discomfort but a slight smile of appreciation she slipped back under her covers for those few extra minutes of sleep she so rightly deserved. She almost felt naughty for doing so and a part of her that had lain dormant for too long felt moderately excited.

Ranma found the note Kasumi had conveniently left for him on the kitchen door. He gulped at the sight of it, he knew the girl did a lot for the family but between going to school and his hectic life he had no clue just how much. The list was massive but he steeled his eyes, set a smile on his face that would make Kasumi proud and started on it. He of course started with the breakfast first, attending to the smaller stuff like cleaning the kitchen as he waited for things to boil or cook.

He was still surprised Kasumi hadn't come down yet, but quietly proud of her for making the most of a day off. In fact it was Soun and Genma who were the first down to the table. His father had given up trying to get him to train with him in the mornings a while ago, but he still grumbled in annoyance when he saw Ranma cooking the breakfast. Soun also knew this was the norm now but after a few minutes of not seeing Kasumi he began to get worried.

"Ranma, where's Kasumi? She isn't sick is she?" Before the man could start his waterworks Ranma quickly interjected.

"No, I gave her a day off for doing so much around here all the time." Soun looked shocked and Genma looked equally panicked.

"A day off boy? But who's going to look after the house? What were you thinking?" Ranma started to get moderately annoyed at the two blubbering men, wondering how Kasumi managed to take all of this in stride.

"I'm handling it. She gave me a list of stuff that needs to be done." With that thought he jerked his head up and rushed over to the oven, quickly removing the item inside before it got burnt. The two fathers's exchanged a look but realised there wasn't really much they could do about it, and neither really minded Ranma's cooking, especially after Kasumi had taught him what she knew. However Genma wasn't smart enough to realise that the conversation was over.

"Boy, stop this at once. The cooking I could deal with but you are _not_ spending the day acting like some kind of housewife!" Ranma didn't drop the smile for an instant but his eyes hardened at the older man in a way that, even through Genma's thick head, made him want to cringe back.

"Oh stuff it Pop, you don't even realise just how much Kasumi does for this house do you? All you do is sit on your ass and play Shogi all day while she goes completely unappreciated. Well I noticed and I for one think she deserves a day off, so unless you want to help me with the housework, go and sit down!" He managed to keep his voice level but that didn't make the words lose any impact.

Somehow Genma actually listened to what his son had to say and like a scorned dog he sat back down at the table, tail between his legs. Unbeknownst to Ranma, Kasumi had just reached the bottom of the stairs when Ranma had his outburst. She was touched and another tear managed to roll down her cheek before she quickly wiped it away. Once again she berated herself for letting her emotions get the better of her.

She came in and sat down at the table, still finding it strange not to make her normal beeline straight to the kitchen. Soun saw this and took it as all the proof he needed that his daughter was indeed not sick so he went back to reading the morning paper. As a joke she sat down in between Genma and Akane's seats, in Ranma's usual spot. She decided with a small internal giggle that if Ranma was intent on taking over her life for a day then the swap should be complete.

Eventually Akane and Nabiki trickled into the room, both so caught up in their sleep-addled minds they saw absolutely nothing wrong. After all, all the seats that were supposed to be filled were so. It was only when Nabiki was through her first cup of coffee and Akane had angrily turned around to grumble something at Ranma that either girl realised the pigtailed teen was nowhere to be seen. Before they could inquire said teen burst out the kitchen, setting the table with food in a style that would put Shampoo to shame.

He noticed Kasumi in his usual spot and with a small chuckle he sat down in hers, understanding the joke. Akane was about to burst out and ask what the hell was going on when Nabiki beat her to the chase.

"Could someone kindly explain why Ranma and Kasumi seemed to have swapped bodies? Did the Amazon's decide to pay a visit I'm unaware of?" Kasumi giggled slightly and Ranma blushed deeply, at least confirming to Nabiki they were who they appeared to be. She would never let it slip past her cold, calculating exterior but she was rather irked that something drastic seemed to have happened in the household without her finding out about it first. Ranma feared he would have to explain the whole thing again but luckily Kasumi saved him the trouble.

"Ranma was nice enough to give me a day off." Both Nabiki and Akane looked extremely puzzled and Ranma could see Kasumi didn't want to give the explanation as it obviously embarrassed her.

"Yeah, well, she does so much around here I figured she deserved it." He shot a smile at Kasumi that Akane didn't miss for a second and her morning anger only grew. However she couldn't hit or argue with Ranma over it as even she knew that would just make her seem petty. Nabiki for one seemed pleased, she of all people knew just how much work Kasumi put into keeping their lives moving, in the same way the middle daughter kept them financially viable.

"Good for you sis. Honestly it's about time." It was Kasumi's turn to blush at her sister's encouraging words. "Given any thought on what you'll do today?" The older Tendo furrowed her brow in thought and mild embarrassment.

"Well, no I was distracted last night preparing the list for Ranma as well as..." She trailed off, remembering her crying fit, "...other things" If Nabiki noticed the pause she didn't show it.

"Well if you make up your mind let me know, I'd be more than happy to help out." Kasumi shot her the warmest smile of the day and for reasons he couldn't quite pin down Ranma actually felt a bit jealous.

"That's very kind Nabiki, perhaps we could go shopping later." For once the ice queen of Furinkan melted under her sister's loving gaze and she actually returned the smile, much to everybody's surprise.

"Yeah, I think that would be nice sis."

Akane seemed to have just caught up with the conversation as she seethed at the far end of the table. "Wait, what list are you talking about?"

Ranma shot her a mildly confused look. "Well with Kasumi gone who'd you expect to do all the chores?"

Akane shot a look right back. "I knew that. I was just wondering why she didn't ask me!" Ranma laughed a little, something Akane didn't seem to find amusing at all.

"Hey if you wanna help out that'd be great, this list is huge." She stormed over to Ranma's end of the table, adamant that the pigtailed teen was exaggerating. When she snatched it out of his hands however she paled. This was truly the first time she realised how much Kasumi really did. Her eyes shot straight to everybody's worse fears.

"Well there! I can do the cooking." She smiled happily, waiting for the praise from her family over taking on a few of the jobs. Instead it was everybody else's turn to pale, even Kasumi surprisingly.

"Oh, I'm sorry Akane, I already promised that Ranma could do the cooking. He's been practising ever so hard lately." Akane's face took on the image of a child with their favourite toy taken away as she grew grumpy and mumbled to herself.

"I'd practise too if you let me." Then her frustration turned back into anger as she rounded on Ranma. "Fine, you can just do all of it then!" She stormed out of the room, confident that Ranma was at least getting punished. The aforementioned boy however, was more than happy to do so, after all what kind of ingrate offers to do a job then becomes petulant about doing it?

With breakfast apparently over the rest of the family member's dispersed, leaving only Kasumi and Ranma, who was busy washing up the mess everybody else left behind. Kasumi approached him slowly.

"Are you sure you wouldn't mind help with even a few things Ranma?" He turned on her, chuckling lightly.

"Hey, I stick to my promises. You don't have to do a thing for the house today, just decide what _you_ want to do." With that he confidently returned to his work, leaving Kasumi to walk out timidly, not at all knowing what to do. She hadn't had a day off since she had taken on the role of homemaker, sacrificing her friends, school life, and slowly, the rest of her life to do so. She had no idea where to begin.


	4. Kasumi's day off

As Ranma started on his next set of chores Kasumi was busy fretting out in the hall. She wanted more than anything to pick up a brush and start cleaning, it was just what came naturally to the girl after too long. Ranma came through with two large bags of rubbish, eyeing her curiously and watched her fiddle with her fingers.

"You know Kasumi, for somebody who's supposed to be relaxing you look pretty stressed." Her head lolled forward in defeat and she stared at Ranma a little hopefully.

"I just don't know what to do with myself. I haven't had a day off like this since, well... ever." Ranma found his hand clenching into a fist uncontrollably, the fact that Kasumi had to work so hard without anybody else pitching in, even occasionally, just made him angry. His eyes softened and his hand opened again when he saw the imploring look she was giving him but he wouldn't relent, she was going to have a day off whether she liked it or not.

"If you need ideas on what to do Kasumi, um..." He never really was good at situations like this. To be honest he was hardly one to talk about free time, all of his own spare time was either spent in problems, getting out of problems, or training for the next problem. "Um, you could always go to the public baths. I guess they're pretty relaxing." He cursed himself; that was a pretty weak idea, nevertheless Kasumi finally perked up at the suggestion.

"That actually sounds alright Ranma, thank you." He was warmed briefly by her radiant smile before they both set off to do what had to be done. Ranma continued going about the chores and Kasumi began gathering everything she would need at the baths. It didn't take her long; there was a perfect map of the house in her head as well as everything that was in it. Soon she had a small bag slung over her shoulder with the necessary soaps, shampoos, towels, and other items.

She set out of the door, still feeling highly strange about the situation, in her mind she should be starting to scrub down the furo right about now. She shook such thoughts from her mind, she was determined not to let Ranma down and actually try and enjoy the day off. Every time she thought those words she'd get a great feeling wash over her, like some small weight was being lifted off of her shoulders, however briefly.

She wound her way through the shopping district, sending her usual happy smiles and nods to the shopkeepers, all of whom knew her by name. They seemed somewhat surprised to see her out this early, even more so when she didn't stop to actually buy anything. More than a few people's daily schedules were thrown completely out of balance that day. Kasumi tried not to notice this as she politely and slowly moved through the crowds. She knew she was merely wasting time but at the same time it finally allowed her to look at the world around her and appreciate it a bit.

Instead she could step back for a moment, not focus on her next task or destination, and just look around for a moment. What she saw surprised her, children running and weaving their way through crowds as their parents happily but tiredly chased after them. There were young couples out holding hands and idly talking about nothing in particular as they gazed lovingly at one another. The occasional bird landed atop stalls to see if there was anything to scavenge today.

She smiled, taking it all in. Day in and day out she had made this same route through the streets yet never once had she really looked, never really paid attention. She saw things that made her laugh, made her wistful and most importantly, things that made her realise what she might have been missing all this time. Of course she loved taking care of her family, it was what came naturally, but looking out over the variety of life out there, anybody would start to imagine a different life or outcome.

As much as she enjoyed watching the world go by around her, and finally be able to see, as long as her feet were moving they eventually had to take her somewhere. She almost surprised herself when she reached the baths, not having expected to arrive so quickly. However when she looked at a clock inside on the wall she realised it had taken nearly an hour just to walk here. She was worried that Ranma would fear she was wasting her day but then realised he had asked her to do things she enjoyed, she had very much enjoyed taking in the sights of Tokyo.

As she walked into the establishment she realised she had never actually thanked Ranma for all of this, she would have to remedy that once at home again. Inside the baths she finally began to relax proper, melting into the waters as if they seemed to leech the very worry out of her skin. It didn't matter to her that she was surrounded by hundreds of other women doing the exact same thing; right now her mind was far too gone.

* * *

Ranma had a marginally less-relaxing day, while it was certainly a welcome break from his normal hectic lifestyle it certainly was no picnic. He groaned after Kasumi left, looking down at all the items on the list he had yet to tick off. He straightened up and shook his head. _'Ranma Saotome doesn't lose.' _He looked down the list again, prioritizing things in his mind, he also looked over things that could be dealt with whilst he had to wait for others.

With all that in mind he set off for upstairs to scrub the furo; that seemed to be the next biggest issue as it may stain with mildew if left unclean for too long. Unfortunately he was headed off on the stairs by someone he wasn't looking forward to talking to.

"Ranma, just what do you think you're doing?" He smiled in that cocky way, even though it drove Akane nuts he couldn't help it sometimes, it was just ingrained. He shrugged simply, trying to act as innocently as possible, something that struck him oddly considering he had done nothing wrong.

"Going to scrub down the furo?" He motioned with his hand toward the cloth and sponge under his other arm. Akane's eye twitched dangerously.

"That isn't what I mean Ranma. What's with this sudden idea to give Kasumi a _day off? W_hatever the hell that means." Ranma had tolerated Akane's wild mood swings up until now but he really wasn't going to let that slide. He tried to maintain his composure but he found his resolve slipping as his voice became unintentionally louder.

"Exactly what it sounds like. Kasumi works all day for us and never gets any appreciation. All I'm doing is returning the favour." Akane's eyes were really starting to haze over with red now.

"What do you mean no appreciation? Are you saying I don't thank my own sister enough? Hey where's my day off? I'm your fiancée after all!" That was it, Akane had just gone too far now.

"THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD START ACTIN' LIKE IT!" He hadn't meant to shout but it was a pure reflex. "You know it's not all about _you_ Akane. The second I try and do something nice you twist it around until I'm the bad guy. I've got news for ya, there's no ulterior motive, nothing for me to gain here and no sick, twisted little plan. I just want to do something nice for someone I care about!" Akane wouldn't listen to reason here, this was just a chance to release all that had been building up in the past week.

The mallet was already in hand; ready to be brought around in a vicious arc that held all her fury and frustration from the last few days. However she was halted mid-swing, and it wasn't by her target of Ranma's head, it was his hand, firmly grasping the end of the hammer. She looked on in shock, he had never blocked her before, dodged occasionally but never purposefully blocked. Her very being shook with anger as she realised what he had done.

"How dare you Ranma?!" Ranma would have returned the shout in kind but he had regained his former composure and looked at her tiredly.

"I don't have time for your tantrums Akane. I still have a lot to do." And with that he simply walked away, leaving Akane seething on the stairs. By that time they had drawn a nice crowd out of the rest of the family and at the bottom of the stairs the two fathers were wailing about the schools never being joined while Nabiki was giving the retreating form of Ranma a sly smile, ideas were already percolating in her mind.

Ranma wasn't long into his job of washing down the large bath before the two fathers burst into the room, Soun crying a literal river and Genma angrily shaking, almost as badly as Akane.

"Son, apologise to your fiancée at once!" Ranma turned to the older man, flames in his eyes.

"Or you'll what exactly?" The older man cringed away from the hateful gaze of his son but his voice only wavered for a second.

"She's your fiancée boy, it's your duty and honour to treat her how she deserves to be treated."

Ranma just scoffed, partly laughing at the very idea of it. "Yeah, what do you think I _am_ doing?"

With Genma speechless at his son's insubordination it appeared to be Soun's turn, who had stopped bawling long enough to bring on his demon's head.

"RANMA! APOLOGISE TO MY AKANE!"

Ranma laughed. "Seriously? You think after Herb and Saffron your little Ki illusion's really going to work anymore?" He sighed and turned around, continuing to scrub down the furo while the two fathers looked on, helpless to do otherwise. When they saw Ranma really wasn't going to relent they had to give up, they just went back down stairs to play Shogi. They passed Akane on the stairs who saw their failure and steamed some more before storming into her room and slamming the door.

Ranma heard all this but didn't even look up from what he was doing, he promised Kasumi a day off and damn it he was going to give it to her! He sighed deeply; at least he had gotten the worst of it while she was out at the baths relaxing. This wouldn't be the end of it but he hoped for the eldest Tendo daughter's sake that Akane could at least hold in her anger for the rest of the day.

* * *

Kasumi felt thankfully refreshed and renewed after her time in the baths, she had run into an old friend from school on the way out and they had sat outside a cafe for a while just chatting, catching up. Kasumi was sad to see her go; it had been so amazing reconnecting with her past like that. They both agreed to stay in touch and it gave Kasumi a new idea to track down some of her old friends.

She walked through the door of the household and noticed no new damage, everything seemed to be progressing as normal with the housework and there was no arguing. She smiled, happy that Ranma had it all under control in her absence, more than once she had considered coming back home just to check up on things. She was about to go and locate Ranma to thank him like she had forgotten but was cornered by Nabiki who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey sis, fancy that shopping trip yet?" She smiled politely at her younger sister, still trying to scoot around her as best she could.

"I just have to speak with Ranma first." Nabiki stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh don't worry about that, he'll be around when we get back, plus he's busy with all the housework and everything." Kasumi looked slightly pained and Nabiki instantly knew she had said the wrong thing.

"Oh my, I hope it isn't too much of a burden for the poor boy." Nabiki tried to get her back on track.

"Please sis, we're talking about Ranma. You know once he gets that thick head of his into something, nothing can stop him." Kasumi quietly nodded "Great, then let's go!" And before Kasumi could make another protest she was practically dragged out of the door. Nabiki wasn't going to be admitting it any time soon but she was looking forward to the shopping trip even more than Kasumi, she had missed just hanging out with her older sister.

They didn't take Kasumi's normal route, instead taking a meandering path through streets that were unfamiliar to the older sister. The wound up at a large mall complex she had never seen before and with an excited gleam that had been missing from Nabiki's eyes for too long, they entered. Of course their first stop was the clothes department where Nabiki spent hours just trying to find something for her sister, insisting that it was her treat. However Kasumi politely declined each time, saying she couldn't or it was too expensive. Eventually the younger sister started to become exasperated at how wholesome her sister could really be.

"You know sis, if you don't cut loose and spoil yourself every once in a while, how are you supposed to have fun?"

Kasumi maintained her perfect smile. "I have lots of fun at home Nabiki. Maybe we should find something for you now?"

Nabiki sighed playfully. "You really are impossible sis. Didn't you hear Ranma? Today's all about you, and I couldn't agree with him more. You don't know how worried I was that you might never properly get out of that house. Heck, if it weren't for grocery shopping I would worry you were agoraphobic." She hung her head down a little. "I'm just a little ashamed it wasn't me who started all this."

Kasumi smiled sadly at her younger sister, instinctively placing a hand on her back in comfort. She looked up and glanced around before something caught her attention. A mischievous gleam entered her eyes as Kasumi followed the gaze toward a store selling swimwear.

"Oh Nabiki, that's rather inappropriate don't you thi-?" She wasn't allowed to finish as her younger sister started dragging her toward the store, intent on actually spending money for once.

* * *

Ranma placed a hand on his back and stretched out, hearing a few vertebrae pop back to where they were supposed to be. He never realised that housework might require him to stretch off first. Yet here he was, hanging up the washing with pains running up and down his back. He couldn't possibly imagine how Kasumi managed all of this bending over; _'especially with those weights on her che-_' He quickly shook his head of those particular thoughts.

He didn't know what was coming over him but as he continued to work thoughts and images of Kasumi just kept popping into his mind of their own accord. Especially her smile, every time he closed his eyes with his mind idle her smile would flash across his mind's eye for a fleeting second. It thoroughly confused him as he continued with the housework, trying to puzzle it out. In the end he simply put it down to that fact that all of this was for Kasumi and he didn't really have anything else to think about right now.

He noticed the time and realised he should be starting dinner right about now. On one hand he was looking forward to it, he always did with cooking now. On the other hand he was dreading it, without Kasumi to diffuse the situation lunch had been an awkward nightmare. It was just him being slowly stared down by Genma, Soun, and Akane like he had committed a crime until the fathers actually ate that is. For once he even wished his mother was there so that his father could have something else to focus on, namely the large katana on her back.

He rushed back inside but not before tripping over a bucket of water, triggering his curse in the process. While he could live with the effects of the curse it was the water-magnet aspect that really got to him. Sometimes he could swear that water would run uphill just to soak him. A now freshly female Ranma entered the kitchen and started preparing the first course of the meal. He had decided on tempura and sushi rolls today as he knew it was Akane's favourite and might be enough to calm the girl down. It was a long shot but one could hope.

He briefly did a walkthrough of the house taking stock of just who was there, to see how much he would have to cook. He counted himself, Genma, and Soun, added in Akane even though he didn't spot her, Happosai who had just come back today from some 'important business' that was surely perverse, as well as Nabiki and Kasumi, who weren't back yet but he was confident would be.

He set about the work, compensating for his, Happosai's and his father's much larger appetites. It was joyful to lose himself in the simple movements, flowing from one step to the next, much like a kata. Except he found it took less effort while at the same time the same amount of skill, just in a different way. He would have to halt this unconscious dance he was performing every once in a while to check up on things or consult the cook-book. Then he would be right back into the flow of things, moving from station to station, dish to dish until everything was finished.

It was strange not to have Kasumi taste-test his food but nobody had complained at lunch, at least about the food. He happily laid the table and as usual the smell of food drew the rest of the household from their respective activities until everybody was around the table. Even Kasumi and Nabiki had returned, both talking animatedly with one another about something. Ranma once again took his place in Kasumi's spot as both shared another humour filled look, only spoiled by the daggers Akane was mentally throwing at him.

Dinner continued in silence so thick one could cut it with a knife, nobody wanted to be the one to break it, especially with the veritable volcano that was Akane waiting in the corner. Ranma tried to focus on his dinner, which he was allowed to eat slightly slower thanks to his position away from his father. All the while he could feel the hole Akane was trying to burn into his skull as she ignored his cooking completely, content to stare at him until he started an argument.

He didn't give in however so dinner also finished in utter silence, the only sounds being people finishing and placing their chopsticks down before politely excusing themselves. Eventually Ranma had to get up and start clearing away the dishes, despite Kasumi's meek protests to the contrary. He purposefully avoided Akane's seeing as she hadn't had a single bite, he mentally shrugged; she would feel the consequences of that later on anyway.

Eventually he got around to Kasumi's plate where the girl was still sitting, once again unsure of where to go from there. He picked up the plate and she looked at him with a mixture of feelings he couldn't decipher. He offered her a warm smile which she returned before standing up.

"Ranma, I want to thank you for today, it was very sweet of you to do all this for me." He blushed, but even more so when Kasumi pulled him into a brief but warm hug which he tentatively responded to by placing his arms around her. It was rather awkward due to the height difference between his girl form and Kasumi but he found that a hug that wasn't one-sided like Shampoo's glomps was actually pretty nice. Of course any nice moment in Ranma's life couldn't last for long and before he could part from Kasumi they both heard a yell from right next to them.

"RANMA! STOP DOING PERVERTED THINGS TO MY SISTER!" Before he could react, literally in milliseconds, he felt a massive impact on his right side that could match a blow from Ryoga. He was sent straight through the far wall and high up into the night's sky. Once again he found himself sighing as he soared past a low-flying plane before bracing for the inevitable watery impact. _'At least I'm already in my girl form, every cloud right?'_

Kasumi frowned at her sister, something that on her features was more just a lack of a smile. Still it was enough to shock Akane out of the red-mist covering her eyes who had been waiting for the resulting praise from her sister for removing the pervert before he could molest her.

"Akane, why did you do that?" It wasn't said with anger, more a deep disappointment that, if anything, had an even greater effect on the younger girl who wasn't at all used to Kasumi speaking in such tones.

"B-But Kasumi, he was being a pervert, and I had to punish him." The elder daughter sighed deeply, she had feared something like this might result from her time with Ranma and she couldn't help but blame herself a little. However it was not her fault that Akane had conveniently edited out the fact that Kasumi had initiated the hug, as well as the fact Ranma was not even a guy at the time. In fact Akane was a little confused, she really thought she had been helping out her sister, yet here she was, without a single word of praise.

"Akane is that really what you saw? In what way was Ranma being a pervert? Did you not see that _I _hugged _him_?" She wasn't sure why she asked that last part, of course Akane saw it, she just twisted her own memories to better suit her goals.

Her sister was trying to process the new information. '_No, that's not right, I definitely saw Ranma hug Kasumi and then I'm sure he would have started doing all sorts of things to her.' _She looked up, confidently now, sure of her answer; however something in Kasumi's gaze made her falter.

'_Kasumi would never lie, would she?' _No, she shook her head, her oldest sister was the most noble and honest person she knew, with Ryoga a close second. She really thought about the incident for a few seconds and for once the red mist parted just enough that she could in fact see that it was Kasumi who initiated the hug. Suddenly she burst into Kasumi's arms, wrapping the older girl in a mighty hug.

"Oh I'm so sorry Kasumi!" The older girl calmly removed herself from her sister's grip and looked down at her as sternly as possible, which once again was more a lack of smile that anything else.

"Akane, I'm not the one you should be apologising to." The younger girl sniffled a bit but nodded reluctantly before sadly leaving the kitchen to wait for Ranma to come back. Kasumi cheered up a little bit. _'Perhaps there is hope for the two of them yet.' _She was definitely glad to see Akane as the one who finally saw herself in the wrong. Too often it was Ranma unnecessarily taking the blame, only to get punished for it even worse because Akane felt validated in her malleting.

Now that Ranma was out for the moment Kasumi quickly tidied up the rest of the plates and put them in the dishwasher. However her little venture hadn't gone unnoticed.

"I thought we told you not to do that sis." Nabiki said it with a smirk but Kasumi turned like a deer caught in headlights. "Ah don't worry about it, what Ranma doesn't know can't hurt him." The two brunettes shared a conspiratorial laugh, the shopping today really letting them bond. Nabiki wandered off as her sister recovered from her large blush, intent on stopping herself trying to do any more housework, at least until she could see what condition Ranma was in.

She didn't have to wait long before a sopping wet Ranma stumbled grumbling through the front door. She rushed over, towel already in hand. She guessed she would have to be a Jusenkyo victim to understand but sometimes she really marvelled at how much they could really attract water, even if it wouldn't activate the curse. Momentarily she shuddered; the thought of having one of those curses after all the chaos she saw them bring daily was enough to give her pause.

As she handed over the towel she spotted Akane out of the corner of her eye, who was already walking over, looking dejected and apologetic. She smiled warmly but Ranma misinterpreted it as her smiling at him as he grinned right back, momentarily forgetting the state of his clothes and not noticing the increasingly angry blue-haired blur before it was too late.

"Ranma, stop flirting with Kasumi!" Once again, before he could react to her presence the mallet was out. However instead of her sending him into Low Earth Orbit she delivered a nasty downswing that nearly embedded the poor martial artist into the floor. Now completely sure that Ranma had been trying something with her sister Akane huffed and stormed off before Kasumi could even try and convince her otherwise.

Kasumi's gaze flickered painfully between the retreating forms of both teens; Akane strode off confidently in one direction while Ranma moved slowly off in the other, rubbing a sore spot on his head. Her loyalties were torn between someone she had come to care for and her sister whom she knew was in the wrong but like always she didn't know how to correct the girl. Just as she thought she was progressing she would immediately revert back to her old ways at the slightest hint of possible unfaithfulness from Ranma, imagined or otherwise.

These were the thoughts that enveloped Kasumi as she lay in bed that night. She was struggling with what she might be able to do with the two teens as stray thoughts started flashing by with no real purpose other to confuse her further. _'If Akane doesn't start realising that Ranma cares for her deeply then she'll lose him. He won't put up with this forever, and I don't think she realises that.'_ No matter how much in the wrong the young girl was Kasumi never wanted to see her sister unhappy, and that would be just what would happen.

'_He's been trying so hard lately to gain her trust but she doesn't even seem to notice. What could be wrong with that girl?' _It was true that even she had noticed Ranma trying his very hardest around his first fiancée. She didn't know about the outburst from earlier today but even so she would have seen the reasons behind it and probably mentally scolded the fathers for their actions.

'_Maybe that's the problem; instead of thinking about things I should actually do something about them.'_ Kasumi sadly shook her head. No, she wasn't the type to confront people with things she didn't consider her business to intrude in. _'But why isn't it my business? I care for Ranma, so why shouldn't I act to help him? He cared enough to help me in my business, so why am I not allowed to return the favor?' _To be honest Kasumi didn't know the answer to her own question, perhaps she would and then again maybe she wouldn't.

Her sleep was fitful that night but in the morning her confusion would be piqued when she remembered her last waking thought being along the lines of. _'I only hope Akane realises what she'll lose in Ranma if she continues down this path.' W_hat exactly did she mean by that? While she wouldn't answer herself her dreams were filled with everything she had come to know about the pigtailed martial artist in their recent time together.


	5. The breaking point

The freezing water was easily enough to make a now female Ranma shoot out of the futon, catching his father off guard as he was about to surprise the boy-turned-girl with a sweeping kick. It took Ranma milliseconds to appraise the older man, grab him roughly by the Gi, and throw him viciously out of their window, making sure to aim for the Koi pond as best he could. _'Dammit, if Pops was waking me up that means...'_

He raced downstairs, ignoring his normal silent approach, instead simply barrelling through the house as fast as he could. Even though it was only a short distance to the kitchen he was already panting from the exertion of making it there in mere seconds. Kasumi took the tired boy in with her usual decorum and smile.

"Oh hello Ranma, it's good to see you finally got rid of those nightmares. Sorry I didn't wake you up but you seemed so peaceful." Ranma just slumped his shoulders down.

"So that means the breakfast-" he looked past her, not wanting to see but sure enough the breakfast was already finished, just waiting to be laid out. Kasumi smiled a little sadly at him as she took in his annoyed and equally saddened expression.

"Well, after everything you did for me yesterday I thought it would be okay if you missed just one meal." He looked back to her eyes, now with a small resigned smile.

"Yeah, I guess, but don't get too used to it. I'll be right back to it at lunch." She gave him a heartfelt smile and carried on with her morning activities as he turned around to get seated. While his own cooking was hardly bad he had certainly missed Kasumi's wonderful dishes. Something about the way the older girl cooked just put that little bit more into the food that made it extra delicious. He was going to have to ask her about that someday if he was ever going to improve. Of course his karmic scales had to rebalance themselves so the next one down to the table was Akane.

"Ranma, what are you doing rampaging through the house like that? You're no better than Happosai! Plus you nearly gave my poor P-Chan here a heart attack." Ranma looked up, irritated at the small black piglet happily squealing as Akane tickled his stomach before being returned to its favourite position in her bosom. Ryoga shot him an evil look and Ranma vaguely remembered stepping on something soft in his mad dash down the stairs.

Time had proven it useless for Ranma to attempt to remove Ryoga from his position with Akane so nowadays he merely waited for the day when she would find out about his curse. He still occasionally cursed the lost boy for making him swear on his honour not to tell.

"Oh hey there _P-Chan, _didn't see you. Man Akane, the little runt stinks. Don't you think he could do with a bath or summin?" The small piglet's eyes grew large as he looked up fearfully at Akane for a moment. However she merely stared daggers at Ranma.

"Stop being mean to P-Chan, geez Ranma it's almost as bad as you picking on Ryoga all the time!" The little pig breathed a sigh of relief, if that was possible in animals, and stuck his tongue out as far as possible. Ranma responded with an apathetic look that only served to infuriate both the pet and its owner. "Why must you be so infuriating Ranma?" She stormed out, strangely not even waiting for breakfast. Her ears must have been burning at that thought because Kasumi quickly popped her head around the door.

"Oh my, I do wish Ryoga wouldn't use his curse in that way." Ranma only nodded before realising what Kasumi had actually said.

"Wait, Kasumi you know?" She giggled at his disbelieving expression.

"Why of course Ranma, Father told me after Ryoga changed back in the furo during one of his baths." Briefly dispelling that disturbing image from his mind Ranma continued to look questioningly at Kasumi.

"But why haven't you done anything yet?" She just tilted her head in an adorable and bemused expression.

"Well we just figured you had your reasons for not telling Akane yourself." Ranma slumped into the seat, defeated at this turn of events. Other people that weren't sworn to their honour knew, yet the little creep still got away with it.

"I can't. Ryoga made me swear to my honour I wouldn't tell anybody about his curse."

The older girl tilted her head in the other direction. "Why ever would you do that?"

He opened his mouth to answer but closed it again, for a moment looking like a fish on dry land. The amusing image caused Kasumi to lightly laugh again.

"I never knew he would use it like this, it was before all the P-Chan stuff. Plus I guess it really was kinda my fault he got the stupid curse in the first place." Kasumi sighed, she knew Ranma would never break an agreement made on his honour; it was what got him into more than a few difficult situations. "And now _P-Chan _gets to snuggle up all nice and cosy in Akane's bed every night, little pervert."

It was just Ranma's luck that Akane had cooled down enough to start walking back to the table when he sad that last sentence. Immediately the hammer was out and not soon after Ranma was firmly buried in the floorboards of the dining room.

"Really Ranma, that's just low. Getting jealous of a pig, I mean really!" She continued to shoot daggers at him for a few more seconds as Ryoga took on the smuggest expression he could manage as a pig. "I don't need to eat with someone like you right now." She held P-Chan on either side of his face and nuzzled his nose against hers. "Come on P-Chan, let's go out and get some food together okay."

Kasumi sighed again, feeling so helpless to stop all this unnecessary pain Ranma got. However when she hurriedly walked back into the dining room with the first aid kit the slightly dented spot Ranma had been occupying was empty. She did look around for a few moments but she didn't spot the young martial artist anywhere nearby. Resolving to talk to him later about it she returned to her housework.

* * *

He wound his way through the house, not completely comprehending where he was going. He briefly passed Nabiki who smirked at him, obviously with something to say. He looked up at her and the words died on her tongue, she was smart and every good business dealer knew that emotion made or broke a deal. In this case she knew that a depressed Ranma thought with a bit more clarity, and that was never good for her.

She allowed him to pass, but not before looking him over, she saw the depression and the obvious pain he was going through yet there was something different today. Like his mother before her Nabiki couldn't place what was off about the pigtailed teen. She walked on by, already mulling it over, she was going to need more data and that meant calling up some contacts to see just what was happening with Ranma.

Apart from the one glance Ranma barely noticed the older girl walk by, it was ironic how wrong she was. Ranma was thinking with anything but clarity; on the contrary, thoughts were spinning through his mind so fast he could barely grasp anything before it slipped through his figurative fingers. Subconsciously he found himself drawn to the dojo, on a different level he registered that was where he had been going all along but he missed that in his depressed haze.

Kasumi watched curiously from where she was working steadily on her chores in the kitchen. While it wasn't unusual for Ranma to get the occasional bad mood it didn't make her sigh any quieter. It didn't strike her as right that Ranma, as caring as the boy could be, had all these problems that only seemed to keep piling up. As far as she knew he hadn't even made any real friends at school, none that would come over and risk getting drawn into the maelstrom of his life.

She immediately noticed the difference in the teen, he wasn't standing straight, his eyes had lost their defiant gleam and he moved without any real purpose. She had always respected Ranma in the way he bore the brunt of his troubles with a cocky smile and barely a complaint. Today it seemed he was finally starting to show the cracks in what many thought to be an indestructible dam that could and would put up with anything they gave it. Kasumi on the other hand had known it was only a matter of time before such facades came apart, depending on the strength of the individual. Ranma was not Atlas, he could not bear the weight of the world forever.

She saw he was heading to the dojo and smiled briefly, at least she knew that helped more often than not. Ranma would work out his troubles even as he flowed from one kata to the next in a graceful dance that was almost as deadly as it was beautiful to watch. Kasumi only had a little bit left to do today thanks to Ranma doing more than he had to yesterday so she decided she would go and watch him practise today. That was another thought that saddened her, in the morning Ranma seemed just as bad yet he had cheered up, now he seemed even worse.

She pondered a while on what she could do to help the young martial artist, yet nothing really came to mind. This is what frustrated her, as his fiancée it was Akane who should be helping Ranma out of these situations, yet as she found out, she was often the one making them worse. '_If I was Ranma's fiancée then I certainly wouldn't-' _That was odd, Kasumi had never thought in that way before, if anything she considered Ranma more the little brother. She shrugged it off and moved back to wiping down the table, determined to finish soon so she could so she could watch him practise.

The fresh air and sunlight did nothing to improve Ranma's spirits, if anything it made him want to retreat further within himself to escape the world around him. A small part of him told himself to stop acting and thinking like Ryoga but it was just that, a small part. He was interrupted from his inner monologue by a voice that for the rest of eternity would send shivers down his spine.

"How you doing Ranma ma girl!" It took him a few seconds to realise that he was currently in his girl form, yet Happosai wasn't firmly buried between his breasts.

"What's the deal old man? Finally got rid of ya perverted ways?" Happosai seemed indignant that Ranma would even ask.

"Of course not sonny, I'll never give up my search for the perfect beauty." The much older man took on a slightly more serious tone than Ranma was used to. "I can see something's troubling you girl and as much as you'd like to not believe it, I'm still your master and the emotional well-being of my students is a top concern." Ranma snorted in derision, a little annoyed at him constantly reffering to him as a girl; he was a guy dammit no matter what he looked like.

"Yeah, and a great job you did with your other two _students._" Happosai quickly bonked him on the head with his pipe, a move that was becoming increasingly difficult for him as Ranma grew in strength. However today Ranma was too tired to even care or block it.

"Those two ingrates locked me in a cave for the better part of two decades, there wasn't a lot I could do about that now was there?" Ranma snorted again but this time kept his comment about just what Happosai could have done to himself. It was the old man's perversity and drinking problem that had put him in the situation in the first place. Whilst Ranma deeply respected the master for his incredible martial arts skill he hoped with all his heart he never turned out like the old troll.

"Anyway Ranma, something's troubling you and I'm here to help."

Ranma shot him a glare. "There's nothing you can do old man, it's my problem and I'll deal with it."

Happosai took on what could only be described as a sagely stance, cross-legged with his eyes closed in apparent meditation. Of course Ranma might have been fooled if he hadn't known the old man for two years.

"If you bottle up all your problems Ranma, you won't like it when they finally decide to come loose." Ranma stared at him oddly, it seemed obvious enough but he still didn't quite understand what he was getting at. "You require an outlet, something to take your mind off your problems and give them time to sort themselves out." Again Ranma snorted; his problems _never _sorted themselves out, he always had to fix them. Then again he was intrigued by what Happosai was offering.

"What you need Ranma ma boy..." Ranma actually found himself drawing closer to the old man; expectantly waiting "... is to start your own collection of beauties!" Ranma inwardly groaned even as he shrank back from the disgusting old pervert. "Here I'll even start you off, as a present from master to student!" He suddenly pulled out a frilly pink bra right out of his Gi and waved it in Ranma's face, who of course took this as a good opportunity to punt the shrivelled old man. It was only convenient that Happosai was the right shape and size to be a football.

Ranma finally entered the dojo, his mood even more soured as he stared stretching. He may have been angry and depressed but martial arts were ingrained far deeper than any emotion and he knew that training without warming up could give him an injury. He moved into the first kata slowly, concentrating on the precision of his movements and the rhythm of his breathing. By now these beginner exercises were instinctual, requiring no thought on Ranma's part as his muscles moved through tirelessly practised manoeuvres.

Kasumi had finally finished up with all the chores that couldn't wait for a little while and moved out of the kitchen, idly moving toward the dojo. The young woman never really felt much rush to go anywhere, unless of course it was to get the first aid kit on one of those occasions Ranma got hurt. She took her time to reach the smaller building, enjoying the beautiful day and the freshness the spring morning permeated.

She got to the dojo just as Ranma started sliding into some of his more complicated katas. She once again marvelled at the grace and skill Ranma made sure every movement contained, no matter how minute. Again, she couldn't help but notice, even now as he flowed through manoeuvres like water, that something was off about the otherwise unflappable teen. Then she saw his face, it wasn't the usual picture of serenity he'd adopt when using the soul of ice in his training.

Instead it was almost an animalistic snarl, his teeth were bared and his eyes strained even as they seemed to pour out fire from his very soul. Suddenly, before Kasumi could even dwell on the shocking change in Ranma's demeanour, his aura flared up. The only experience the eldest Tendo daughter had with Ki and auras was the occasional scare tactic Happosai and Soun would use, as well as the time Ranma had first learned about the Shishi Hokoudan and developed the Moko Takabisha.

However in this case even somebody as inexperienced as her could tell this was something different. The energy flared up around Ranma's form like an incandescent flame of crimson flecked with the occasional flashes of dark green and gold. It was almost as if the boy had burst into flames on the spot and Kasumi couldn't help but cringe away, despite the lack of heat. As Ranma became more and more involved with his workout the aura only grew larger and brighter, it wasn't necessarily painful to look at but it wasn't pleasant either.

Even so, Kasumi was hypnotised by the display of raw, unfettered power that emanated from the lone martial artist. She was shaken out of her trance-like daze by a resounding crack as Ranma subconsciously began employing his father's sealed techniques. The Yama-Sen-Ken attacks started to put a strain on the dojo, even as Ranma began cracking floorboards and walls with the ferocity of his shadow-fight.

She wanted to run in and stop the teen, before he did something to bring the whole building crashing down on his head. However once again she found her feet rooted to the spot as his aura grew larger and larger, surpassing the bounds of the small dojo like a beacon one might see from space. Absolute rage and fury radiated off of the boy in waves as all his frustration was vented into the air around him.

Soun and Genma rushed out of the house with Nabiki hot on their tails, the two older martial artists, while fairly inept in their own rights, couldn't ignore sensing this much pure power. They too stood in awe of the burning inferno that surrounding Ranma, even as he continued his destructive exercise. They would have also been held in its hypnotic gaze if Soun hadn't spotted his eldest daughter near its very epicentre, as entranced as they had been.

He immediately tried to rush over to take her away from the obvious hazard but when he tried to approach the very air seemed to burn him. None of them could even get close, yet all the while Kasumi seemed completely unaffected by the torrential blaze of energy. Soun would have wept but the tears evaporated from his cheeks before they could even take form.

They all watched on in utter amazement at the boy that only minutes ago seemed to be utterly hopeless and distraught. This wasn't Ranma Saotome, the cocky jock who had hell thrown at him but answered with a grin. This was Ranma Saotome, the man who had killed a god with his bare hands. Any who had doubted his previous power could no longer deny that this boy might even surpass Happosai in terms of ability.

While the others looked on in fear and astonishment, Kasumi saw Ranma in another light. From her position she could see his clothes ripple around him like they were caught in some torrential wind. His hair splayed about, held straight up by some unseen force, yet his body still moved with the undeniable grace and beauty that made what Ranma did, classifiable as an art form. In the same way that she couldn't move her feet before, she found them moving by their own power, slowly, toward the heart of the inferno.

She ignored Soun's cries of protest from behind her and steadily made her way towards the pigtailed teen. The ground around her actually began to bubble and melt from the intensity of the energy yet she still felt completely unaffected. Ranma had become a blur of motion and her eyes could barely keep up with his lightning fast movements but she still found she could approach him. It reached a breaking point as she raised an arm out to touch him on the shoulder, only for him to swivel in an instant, murder in his eyes and arm raised, ready to kill whoever had touched him.

For one single millisecond Kasumi believed he just might do it. It was there in his eyes, the will, the intent, and the sheer ability. However as bright and as powerful as the aura had become, it disappeared the second Ranma laid eyes on Kasumi. All the anger and rage and frustration left him like a demon leaving its host. The raised arm went limp, his eyes became dull and he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Ranma nearly flew back through the bed he was on when he opened his eyes, only to be greeted to the sight of one shrivelled Amazon. His head shot up and looked around him where he found his father, Shampoo and all the Tendos save Akane all anxiously looking at him.

"What's going on? Where am I?" He looked around the unfamiliar room; it was fairly plain, painted in a pale lilac colour not dissimilar from the shade of Shampoo's hair. There was a desk in one corner and the occasional framed picture of Soun, Akane, and Nabiki. It was Cologne who answered him in the end.

"You've been brought to Kasumi's room, I recommended somewhere comfortable and she told me it was the most comfortable bed in the house." Now that Ranma thought about it the bed underneath him was in fact extremely comfortable, at least when compared to the futon he had slept in for the past two years. "You gave us quite a scare son-in-law; that blast of energy was like nothing I have ever felt before; I feared you may have burnt yourself out."

Ranma was scared by that, he did remember what had happened to cause him to pass out but the actually frightening thing was he had only been using half of his full Ki reserves. He conveniently forgot to mention that to the elderly woman, no need to startle her now.

"So what actually happened?" Cologne looked him over, part of her wanted to believe that Ranma really didn't know however she had known him long enough to understand he tended to act dumb.

"I'm afraid I would need more information before I come to any conclusion, however this isn't uncommon with Ki manipulators. It was most likely due to a sudden change in emotion." When everybody in the room gave her the same uncomprehending look she continued with a sigh. "Some of you at least know that the use and manipulation of Ki is strongly tied into the wielder's emotions. When somebody like Ranma builds up so large an aura based of one emotion alone, if he suddenly feels another then the two opposing Ki clash. This was what momentarily shocked your system into overload as your body compensated for the warring energies in your system." She then addressed the rest of the room.

"What might I ask did the aura look like at its height?" Soun donned a blank look, he had been so focused on his daughter he had failed to notice anything specific. Genma likewise had been so proud of his son displaying such tremendous power he too had neglected to note anything specific. Nabiki didn't look ready to divulge any information on the matter without a price so it was Kasumi, who until now had been timidly standing in the corner of her room, who answered the older woman.

"I believe it was red, with splashes of green and gold." It almost sounded strange, as if she were describing some piece of abstract art. Cologne nodded her thanks.

"If you could be a tad more specific child." Kasumi nodded, thinking a bit harder about what she had seen, trying to avoid the memories of how Ranma's body danced across the floor of the dojo.

"Well, the red was very light, almost pink, except it became darker the further from Ranma it got, more to the colour of a rose. The green was just the opposite, dark, like the colour of seaweed. The gold hurt to look at but it shone like metal." Cologne seemed genuinely surprised at the detail of the girl's description but it didn't show on her face long enough for anybody but Nabiki to notice.

"Thank you child, that was most helpful. Well based on that description boy, I would say that you were feeling extremely frustrated, on the point of anger as well as more than a bit of depression. Am I right?" Ranma grunted, unhappy at all these people standing around talking about his emotions. When Cologne kept looking at him he eventually grumbled.

"Maybe a bit, I mean I coulda told ya that." Suddenly he found himself submersed in a hug as Shampoo launched herself onto the bed, wrapping Ranma up as tightly as she could.

"Aiyah, Ranma angry because he no get to spend time with Shampoo!" He squirmed on the bed, trying to break the vice-like grip on his body. Unfortunately the only way to do so would have been to press on Shampoo's chest and knowing Ranma's luck he certainly wasn't going to do that!

"Urgh, Shampoo get offa me!" Suddenly the weight was lifted and for a second he believed Shampoo had actually listened to him for once. Instead he saw Cologne calmly pull Shampoo away from him, apparently using no effort whatsoever to restrain the struggling girl who only looked imploringly at her.

"Why Great-Grandmother do that?" Cologne looked worriedly between Ranma and Shampoo, an odd look crossing her face for a moment.

"Come now Shampoo, we've done all we can for son-in-law, best to leave him to rest for a while." Shampoo knew better than to argue with her elder, especially one as powerful as Cologne but that didn't stop her from shooting half-angry, half-questioning looks at her. She gave up fighting and instead turned back around to face Ranma before being practically dragged out of the room.

"Shampoo come by later with too too delicious ramen for Airen!" Ranma groaned; that was certainly going to be fun. He was just lucky Akane hadn't been here to see Shampoo's display of affection or he was sure Kasumi would either need a new bed or a patched roof. As he thought about the girl he figured she must still be out with her precious P-Chan. No doubt she would come back, see the state of the dojo, and immediately blame him without any thought to the reason. Granted he _had_ done the damage, but she had no way of knowing that.

Genma seemed content that Ranma wasn't injured or sick, assuring his future was still secure, so he left the room. Soun quickly followed to make sure the panda wouldn't mess with any of the pieces on the Shogi board. Nabiki gave the boy one last calculating look before demurely following the two older men out. Ranma and Kasumi followed the girl with their eyes up until she closed the door of her bedroom, leaving them alone. Ranma made a move to stand up but Kasumi quickly moved over and gently pressed him back down onto her bed.

"No Ranma, you heard Elder Cologne. You have to stay in bed until you recover." The concerned look on her face was beautiful, making her look like a mother who had a scare with their child.

"Really Kasumi I feel fi-" Her sad smile was enough to make him reconsider; nobody could argue with Kasumi, it was just one of her virtues. With a sigh he flopped back down onto the bed while Kasumi politely sat herself down on the side, handing Ranma a cold water cloth. He refused as he noticed for the first time that he was male and decided he would like to keep it that way for a little while. She nodded in understanding and once again the room was bathed in an awkward silence.

"Ranma, what really happened there?" She actually surprised him; the smothering silence had managed to last for an entire minute until she felt brave enough to break it. For a moment he did feel tempted to lie and say the first idea that came out of his mouth. However one look into her eyes revealed concern, not fake concern just to make sure he was okay, but a genuine care for his well-being that was both touching and highly alien to the raven-haired teen.

"Honestly Kasumi, I'm not really sure. It was all kind of fuzzy. One minute I'm training, thinking about everything that had happened in the last few days, the next I'm surrounded by an aura that just got hotter and hotter. When it was getting really big I started to feel angry, angrier than I have been in a long time. Then the angrier I got the bigger the aura became like some vicious cycle. Then I turned and saw you and um-" She looked at him expectantly and his head dropped a little.

"Kasumi I feel really ashamed about this but-" He looked up into her eyes, trying to find the strength he couldn't find in himself at the moment "-I was going to kill you." The look of shock in her eyes was enough to get him to sit bolt upright, madly waving his arms in protest. "No, no nono nononono I didn't mean you!" She looked back at him, slightly fearful which broke his heart a little, but at the same time curious.

"I meant, well, I felt somebody coming closer to me and I just wanted to hurt them. I didn't care who it was or what they wanted, right at that moment I just wanted nothing else." He tried to look into her eyes but she kept averting her gaze, looking anywhere but his face, which wasn't making this any easier. "But it was you. The instant I saw you I just knew I couldn't ever hurt you and like that all the anger and frustration and sadness was gone. It left me kind of hollow but then I guess I passed out because I woke up here." The older girl looked up at him, finally meeting his eyes, he breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see any fear in those brown orbs, but he didn't quite comprehend the emotion he did see.

"Ranma, thank you for being honest with me." For some reason, which Ranma literally couldn't determine, a smile found its way onto his face.

"It's really hard not to be with you Kasumi, trust me." She giggled as well and just like that all the awkward tension was gone and the two could smile at one another. He got up with a bit more cheer and this time Kasumi didn't stop him. She watched him leave, smiling not out of sadness this time, but relief. It was always good when the people around her could smile, if only that could never change.

She resolved then and there, as she watched the pigtailed teen leave her room, that she would try her hardest to lighten the burden on his shoulders. She told herself the reason was because she wanted to see him smile more, ignoring the part of her mind that said otherwise. That night her dreams were carefree, only bordered by a hint of darkness when she tried to think of what was to come in the next few days.


	6. The gordian knot

Monday came and went as the residents of the Tendo household moved on with their respective lives. As Ranma predicted Akane had come home, only to see the dojo in its state and immediately go straight to where Ranma was busy preparing dinner. They had fought but to Ranma's credit he had just managed to placate the girl enough not to earn a malleting. Akane went on without finding out about Ranma's episode; something the entire household had silently agreed would be for the best. Even if nobody admitted it out loud, everybody knew where a good portion of that anger of his was coming from.

Likewise, nobody noticed all the extra work Kasumi was putting in around the house, doing almost enough for two whole days. By the end she collapsed exhaustedly into bed and fell instantly asleep. Ranma would be ashamed to say he too didn't notice the change, but between school, getting lost in cooking and starting work fixing the damage he had done to the dojo, he barely saw the older girl the entire day.

So it was that Tuesday morning came around and everything seemed like it always did. Ranma came down, cooked breakfast and everybody ate. Of course Ranma and Akane managed to fight over some trivial thing everybody would have forgotten by the afternoon and she chased him out of the house. Nabiki set off for the train station and by extent University while the two fathers lost themselves in game after game of Shogi or occasionally, Go.

Kasumi finished washing the dishes, humming a tune that for some reason she couldn't get out of her head. Checking to make sure the two father's really were immersed in their game she quickly left through the front door and hurriedly started making her way through the city. This wasn't a day off after all; she didn't have a lot of time. It was a hurried walk through the city with quick nods to the shopkeepers as she passed by who once again wondered if the world was ending when the girl didn't stop to buy anything.

She made it to Okonomiyaki Ucchan's in good time as, far from Nerima's normal unpredictable weather, it stayed brilliantly sunny. She entered through the curtains and looked around the teeming restaurant for the chef herself. Kasumi had chosen to talk to Ukyo first as, from what he could gather from her visits, she was the most mature of the three fiancées. She still appreciated the time when the Gambling King had managed to take the house and the young chef took them all in, however briefly. She walked over to the grill, noting the oddly dressed serving girl behind it.

"Hello, I'm Kasumi Tendo. Could I speak with Miss Kuonji please?" Konatsu took in the tall girl before him, looking up only briefly from the food he was preparing. In the last few months Ukyo had really gotten him to appreciate the art, even letting him run the restaurant in her absence. He still made the occasional mistake but he was certainly getting better, the gender-challenged ninja had only messed up last week because he had misinterpreted Ukyo when she had told him everything was half off. Selling off half the furniture was an honest mistake in his opinion.

"I'm sorry, Ukyo is at school right now. Could I leave a message for Mistress Kuonji?" Kasumi let her head roll back for a moment. _'Sometimes when they all talk about the girl running a restaurant it makes me forget she's only Ranma's age!' _She politely shook her head at the young girl before her who happily returned to flipping the Japanese pizzas. Kasumi walked out of the restaurant, actually a little annoyed; while Furinkan high school wasn't out of the way it would take up more time than she had.

If she left now she could probably reach it just as first period ended, that would give her a ten minute break to talk to Ukyo in. Of course she would have to avoid both Ranma and Akane so she could maintain her secrecy. It seemed to be her only choice as she feared if she waited until next weekend Ranma might have another outburst. She walked at the briskest pace possible without it being called a jog in the direction of the school. Jogging wasn't really something she could do in her attire anyway.

She had found that at least one thing had come about due to her day off, or at least it had stuck with her. She found that she was appreciating her surroundings more and more, taking in what was around her as opposed to walking on by. Even now as she hurried toward the school she was noticing things she never would have before. She passed by a park and saw a young couple on a bench holding hands.

It was a nice scene, touching enough that she ignored the fact they should probably have been in school. She also passed an elderly man practising Tai Chi on a mat in the same park. If she wasn't in such a rush she may have stopped for a few moments to watch in fascination as the man went through his various motions. It wasn't nearly as graceful or beautiful as anything Ranma could do but it had an appealing delicacy that the gentle woman could appreciate.

She approached the large white school even quicker than she had planned so it actually gave her a few moments to wait until the bell rang for second period. She calmly stood in the corridor, not far from Ranma's homeroom. She was thankful she knew which room he was in due to the few times she had to bring him his lunch. She might not have bothered even a few months ago but with the severity of his and Akane's arguments increasing as they had she found he forgot the food more and more often.

Lately at least he had improved in that regard, always making sure he had time to grab a lunch, even once right out her hands as he shot her a grin before being chased out of the house. It saddened her that anybody would have to start their day in such a manner; it seemed so wasteful of a good morning. She was interrupted from her daydreams as the bell went off and she calmly awaited the inevitable crowd emerging slowly from the classroom.

This was all the reason she was even more shocked when the teen she had been thinking about burst from the room, apologising for something before diving right out of the window. Kasumi involuntarily gasped as she remembered they were on the third floor but based on the claps coming from the ground she figured Ranma must have landed safely. A few seconds later a blue-haired blur ran out of the same door shouting nonsensical curses and immediately made for the stairs, not even noticing her sister as she passed.

Kasumi winced at some of the language she heard her sister using; at least she had never learnt any of that from her. She was at least grateful that her sister hadn't spotted her, despite running right by her. Now all she had to do was-

"Ranma honey! Wait for me!" There was the girl Kasumi was looking for. As Ukyo passed by at a slightly slower rate than Akane had previously, Kasumi politely tapped her on the shoulder causing the younger girl to spin on the spot. "Oh, hello Kasumi, what are you doing here?" She smiled at the okonomiyaki chef which caught the girl off guard as she had no idea what any of this was about.

"I had hoped to talk to you at your restaurant, it was lucky that nice young girl you have working there told me I could find you here." Ukyo stared blankly at her for a moment.

"You wanted to talk... to me? Wait what young gir-?" Suddenly Ukyo burst out laughing for some reason Kasumi couldn't figure out. She managed to stop herself and look up at the older girl, slightly apologetically. "Sorry, I assume you mean Konatsu?" Kasumi nodded, still smiling. That purely innocent look on her face made Ukyo not press the subject further. While she still found it funny when people made that mistake she could hardly blame them with the way the poor ninja dressed.

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you about Ranma." Suddenly Ukyo became all business, straightening up and looking very serious all in a flash.

"What about my Ranchan?" Kasumi smiled, now glad she had at least thought about what she wanted to say.

"I just wanted to ask how you saw yours and Ranma's futures together." Suddenly Ukyo couldn't maintain her business demeanour, switching instead to a dreamy wistful look that only a school girl could posses.

"Oh, it's going to be magical. I'll expand my business with Ranma at my side and then when we're financially secure we'll start a family with Ranma looking after the children while I run the restaurants. Until then he can always use his girl form to attract a few customers, they do love a cute waitress." She suddenly snapped out of it, looking up hopefully at Kasumi. "Why are you asking? Did Ranma say something?" She looked over to the window he had leapt from. "He has been acting differently lately." Kasumi just considered what Ukyo had told her, ignoring the last two comments.

"Do you think Ranma would be happy with all of that?" The question immediately put the younger girl on the defensive, even after it caught her off guard.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't Ranma be happy with me?"

Kasumi smiled understandingly at the young chef. "Take no offense Ukyo, I meant nothing about you. I simply wonder if Ranma has ever expressed any interest in the restaurant business, or in raising a family as the homemaker?" She left out Ranma's newfound passion for cooking, after all she had come to help out Ranma a bit, not strengthen his suitor's claims on him.

Ukyo for her part just looked at the ground, for the first time thinking about Ranma unsurely. "Well, no... But who wouldn't be happy with that?"

Again Kasumi was prepared. "Well, as I understand it, Ranma is very much a free spirit, not the type I would expect to settle down in such a way without first finding his own goals. I also understand he has his own dreams in life, many of which revolve around martial arts, something you failed to mention even once in your shared future. You don't really expect Ranma to give that up do you?"

Ukyo seemed distressed at how the older girl, someone she had honestly had very little direct contact with until now, was picking apart her fantasies. "Well, I mean, the future's always open to change. Once we're a bit more secure money-wise we could buy a dojo. Ranma could teach while I cook, each doing what we love."

Kasumi could already see the flaw all too easily. "But then if you are both working who would look after your children?"

Now Ukyo was becoming worried; she had thought about this dream for so long now it had just seemed perfect, irreplaceable, yet here this other girl was, pointing out every imperfection as if they were clear as rain. "Why are you doing this Kasumi?" The older girl winced at the pain in Ukyo's voice, this obviously wasn't easy for her and Kasumi tried to sympathise.

"Please, I only want you to really think about your future with Ranma. He's been under quite a bit of stress lately and I at least want everybody who is causing him problems to at least know for certain their feelings." It hadn't quite come out the way Kasumi had wanted to say it but she was pressed for time as the bell rang once again and she had to leave Ukyo, already behind on her housework. The Okonomiyaki Chef watched the Tendo homemaker leave before her eyes dropped to the ground.

"I'm causing Ranchan problems?" It was a barely a whisper, caught up in the ruckus of teenagers moving through the halls to get to their next lesson. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts for the rest of the day that even Ranma noticed something was off about his 'cute' fiancée. He thought about approaching her but the day was going so smoothly so far, barring that one fight with Akane, that he didn't want to risk jinxing it. He decided to drop by her restaurant some time and ask her about it, where at least Akane couldn't accuse him of perversity; he hoped.

* * *

Kasumi walked away from the school at an equally brisk pace, slightly disheartened. She felt as though she had no impact on the young girl, at least nothing major. She now realised that it just hadn't been enough time to say everything she wanted and needed to say. She decided to make sure that wouldn't be the case when she talked to Shampoo and started mentally planning what she would have to do to get more time with the bouncy Amazon than she had with Ukyo.

* * *

Wednesday passed in much the same way as Monday; with Kasumi working extra hard throughout the day to make sure she had time on Thursday, even as nobody noticed. Ranma continued his repairs on the dojo, forgoing his own training which Kasumi noticed was starting to have an effect on the young martial artist. He was becoming slightly more irritable, only just managing to stop himself before retorting Akane with his old insults like Tomboy and Uncute. Something that Kasumi knew must have had an impact over the years with Akane. The whole house was just starting to feel like one giant powder keg and she had the unfortunate feeling that for once, Akane wouldn't be the fuse.

On Thursday the older girl waited longer into the day before she set out, having found out prior to leaving that Shampoo made deliveries during the day so would be unavailable. It was late into the afternoon by the time Kasumi made it to the Nekohanten; she had made sure to leave about a half hour window to talk in before returning in time for Ranma and Akane to get back from school. She looked over the simple white building with its Chinese designs and elegant storefront facade.

She mulled over just how many problems for Ranma had been cooked up in this place. There were just too many to count; the reversal jewel, the red thread, the love mushrooms, food with 'special' spices, and many more. It was odd to think of this inconspicuous building housing such mischief and trouble. She stepped inside, realising for the first time that she had never even had the pleasure of coming here before, despite the food, especially the ramen noodles, being recommended to her.

The musk of warm food and herbs assaulted her as she stepped through; making her briefly wonder if this was what China smelt like. It was actually rather cosy and she found herself immediately at ease in the simple decor and temperate atmosphere. She looked around and spotted the bubbly lavender-haired girl she had come to see, smiling with semi-satisfaction. She also saw Elder Cologne, occasionally throwing out orders of food through the large opening between the kitchen area and the dining area which Shampoo caught expertly.

It was an impressive display of dexterity and skill which Kasumi could see the customers all appreciated as well. She couldn't dwell on it long as she had to make a choice. Before coming she had been confident about talking to Shampoo in the same way she had with Ukyo, except now that she was here she wasn't so sure. As she understood it Cologne was the driving force behind more than a bit of Ranma's grief, albeit she had also aided him in fixing a lot of it. It seemed her choice was made for her as she stood there, frozen with indecision.

"Aiyah, Nihao too too nice girl! You bring news of Shampoo's Airen!" Kasumi smiled, glad to be rid of the choice and just go on with what she wanted to say.

"Nihao Shampoo." The Chinese girl beamed even more brightly at somebody responding to her greeting in kind. "Could we talk for a moment?" The cheerful girl nodded happily and soon the two were sat opposite one another far from the ears of the other customers.

"What too too nice girl want talk about?" Kasumi kept up her usual neutral smile, hoping that all of this would go better than it did with Ukyo.

"I wanted to talk about Ranma, and please, call me Kasumi." Shampoo took on the exact same dreamy look that Kasumi had seen on Ukyo's features not two days ago and her stomach started to sink ever so slightly. "I just wanted to ask, do you know that you cause Ranma quite a bit of trouble?" Suddenly Shampoo sat up straighter and looked at Kasumi a bit more critically. One again the older girl noticed the duality between now and her conversation with Ukyo when the girl had the exact same reaction.

"What _Kasumi _mean trouble?" She struggled with the name for a moment but with an encouraging nod from Kasumi she smiled a little before returning to her more demure manner.

"Well, when you..." She thought about the next word, not wanting to use the silly description everybody seemed to give the action "...hug Ranma, it causes him to get into trouble with Akane."

Shampoo merely looked up at the ceiling and crossed her arms. "Is no Shampoo's fault if violent girl has too too short temper!"

Kasumi looked down at the ground and sighed. "Yes, I admit that. I just wanted to know if you ever tried just being Ranma's friend."

Shampoo uncrossed her arms, looking curiously at Kasumi. "Shampoo is friend with Airen." Her voice did nothing to hide her uncertainty at the remark.

"What I mean is normal friends, who get to know one another. Have you never noticed how uncomfortable Ranma becomes when you... hug him?"

Shampoo became defensive again. "Airen like Shampoo hugs!" But once again her voice belied her uncertainty, her brow started to furrow as she wondered how this girl was managing to get to her so easily. "You just here because want violent girl to marry Airen!"

Kasumi sighed and looked around again, an action that caught Shampoo of guard. "No, I believe I'm starting to have my doubts about my little sister. I merely came here to try and help Ranma; I don't like seeing him in such pain."

Shampoo once again furrowed her brow in disbelief. "Airen no in pain, he too too strong martial artist, God slayer, he no show emotion like weakling!" Kasumi smiled weakly, marvelling at this foreign girl's innocence, despite her having felt Ranma's outburst and seen the result. Before she could say any more to the young girl a voice caught them both by surprise and Elder Cologne suddenly appeared between them without warning.

"I'm afraid I couldn't help but listen in child, what were these doubts you were having about young Akane now?"

Kasumi smiled almost playfully at the older woman. "Whilst the bond I see between Ranma and my sister is in question in my own heart elder, she is still my sister and I couldn't possibly betray her like that."

The older woman grinned herself, letting out a cackle that caused many of the patrons to look around for the source of the hideous noise. "Can't blame an old gal for trying now?" She looked over the eldest Tendo daughter, sensing something had changed since the last time she had seen her, however subtle. "So you are here to look out for son-in-law? Well let me put your fears to rest. He will be more than happy with the Amazons. Believe me, we are a warrior people, praising fighting skill and ability and even you must admit that Ranma is amongst the best fighters in the world now."

Kasumi nodded but her eyes still spoke of troubled thoughts. "Yes, but don't you believe that should be Ranma's choice?"

Cologne became a little bit more serious. "Child, Ranma made his choice when he challenged my Great-Granddaughter and defeated her. By the laws of the tribe he is her husband and nothing will change that." Kasumi caught a strange look pass across Shampoo's face and she wished she had more time with the younger of the two Amazon's. However the look on Cologne's face quite clearly told her the matter was no longer up for discussion.

"Well, thank you for your time Elder." She nodded politely and turned to face Shampoo, once again noticing the subtle change in the way the girl was sitting "Shampoo". The girl looked up out of her semi-daze, but when she realised Kasumi was saying goodbye she returned to her former chipper self and smiled brightly. Kasumi left the cafe as the Amazon's returned to their work even more disheartened than she had when leaving Ukyo.

She now understood just what Ranma had to put up with on a daily basis and why he had such difficulty sorting out the tangled mess of his life. She quietly contemplated all of this as she walked back through the late afternoon air, once again retreating into her own thoughts and missing out on the sights around her. She made it back to the house in time for Ranma to burst through the front door with obvious frustration written across his features.

He smiled when he saw her and she in turn smiled back before he had to rush on upstairs. The reason soon became clear as Akane trudged into the room, her face red and fingers twitching to start pulling out the mallet. Kasumi knew she still had work to do but he couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. She calmly placed her had on her little sister's shoulder and waited a moment for the younger girl to calm down.

"Could I speak with you in the kitchen Akane?" She made sure to use her most neutral tone so her sister wouldn't notice anything was different and the girl rather happily followed her through to the other room. Akane sat down on a chair while Kasumi leaned against the work surface, sorting through her words to find what she needed to say. While she had briefly skimmed this in her mind she hadn't thought about it as deeply as she had with Shampoo or Ukyo.

"Akane, why are you angry at Ranma?" The other girl looked up, slightly indignantly.

"Well at school I saw him and Ukyo-" Kasumi calmly raised her hand to silence her sister.

"No Akane, not today. I mean all the time." Akane's brow furrowed.

"I'm not angry at Ranma all the time, only when he deserves it." Kasumi raised a brow at this.

"Like whenever Shampoo hugs him?" Akane's eyes turned fierce. "Or when he spends time with Ukyo?" Her frown only increased.

"Well yeah! You see the way he squirms in Shampoo's glomps, rubbing his body all over hers!" Kasumi sighed at her sister, imploring her with her eyes, however she didn't get the message. "And when he's with Ukyo I know he's just thinking about perverted thing he could do to her!" Kasumi shook her head a little; an action that went unnoticed by her little sister.

"Akane, don't you ever see just how uncomfortable Ranma is in those hugs? He's trying to get out of them, not rub his body over Shampoo. And why shouldn't he spend time with Ukyo? Would you really deny him time with his friends just because they're girls?" Akane was once again caught off guard as her mind spun in circles attempting to work out why all of a sudden her sister had turned against her.

"But Kasumi-" The older girl gave her a look that silenced further protest.

"How did you get this image in your head that Ranma is a pervert Akane? As long as I've known him he has only been the most honourable gentleman I know." The cogs in Akane's mind were still turning.

"But when we first met, the bathroom, he looked at me!" Kasumi sighed again, helpless against Akane's apparently selective memory.

"Akane, as I remember that night _you _walked in on _him _and the sign quite clearly said occupied." Akane frowned against her own differing memories, yet once again she couldn't find it in her to argue against her sister. "Why can't you see the difficult position Ranma is put into every day?" Akane continued to stare at her sister, not quite believing what she was hearing yet on the other hand having to. She didn't want to believe her own memories were wrong but she couldn't believe Kasumi was lying to her. Somewhere inside her a wall crumbled and a tear leaked out from her eye.

"Oh Kasumi! The way he acts around them, the way he calls Ukyo cute or the way he looks at Shampoo! Why can't he be like that with me?!" She leapt into her sister's comforting embrace, weeping openly as she poured her heart out. "Why can't he just care about me?" Kasumi softly stroked her sister's hair, trying to be as comforting as possible.

"Oh Akane, he does care." The younger girl looked up at her inquisitively, still sniffling and trying to wipe away the tears. "You know how father and uncle Saotome are, at the first sign of you two getting along they hear wedding bells. I just think Ranma isn't ready for that kind of thing." She looked down at her little sister, remembering how they had shared a moment not unlike this when their mother had died. "And I don't think you are either."

"B-But at the wedding..." Kasumi gently laid a finger on her sister's lips, quieting her down.

"That's just what I meant, you felt you were so ready to go through with it, yet nobody consulted Ranma, asked what he felt or if he was ready. He's a teenage boy Akane, it's normal for him to not be ready for marriage. It would be weird if he wasn't." She looked away wistfully, thinking about that horrible day. "Your relationship didn't have the best of starts, but if you do truly care about Ranma, you should see that he is trying to make an effort." She looked back down into her sister's watery eyes "And I hope you can too." Akane looked back into her eyes, trying to find what all of this was about.

"Kasumi I... I-" Before she could say what it was she was cut off as Soun practically pounced into the room, tears streaming down his face.

"Oh Kasumi, how could you do this? Are you hoping to tear apart the relationship between Akane and Ranma?" Behind him Genma as a Panda was holding up his sign that read *Now the school will never be joined, oh woe is me* It was a little worn from the amount of times it had been used.

"But Father-"

"Why Kasumi? Why would you do this to my little Akane and her fiancée?" The older girl began to get a little annoyed when she wasn't allowed to finish. With an internal curse she looked down at her sister whose tears had dried up and her eyes had hardened with suspicion, suspicion she realised was aimed at her. By now Soun had devolved into a weeping mess unable to continue talking. Nabiki, attracted by all the commotion looked in on the room and took in the entire scene with one appraising glance.

"Huh, maybe it would be better if you were Ranma's fiancée Kasumi. After the way you two have been acting around each other lately" It was obviously sarcastic and not meant to be taken literally but Soun let out another wave of tears, trying to build a small pond in the kitchen floor. Seeing that this situation was unsalvageable with Akane already walking off and the two fathers in no state to talk reason with, Kasumi walked off, more than a little irritated. She felt as though she had actually made progress with Akane, for it to all come to nothing.

* * *

Later that night she sat in her bed, unable to get to sleep; while she knew Nabiki had only been joking in what she said, it still got her thinking. _'Why were we so quick to push Ranma on Akane?' _She already knew the answer. On that first day Kasumi had actually been more than a little excited, more so at least than her sisters. It was so disappointing when she found out about Ranma, how much younger he was than her.

She had been so set at that time that younger men were boring, what she now knew to be a dreadful generalisation. She chuckled silently to herself. _'Well it can be said that Ranma is anything but boring.' _There it was again; those thoughts weren't going to do her any good! She smiled sadly, it wasn't the only reason she knew and was more than a little ashamed about. _'That curse was just so shocking and alien.'_

Of all people she should have known better than to judge somebody so harshly on appearances, at least now she knew better, that Ranma was Ranma no matter how he looked. It had helped at the time that the two of them went off looking like such fast friends. Those words still wrung in her ears to this day. 'Hi, I'm Akane, want to be friends?' The look of sheer hopefulness in Ranma's eyes had been wonderful and Kasumi truly believed that the two were right for one another.

'_Where did it all go wrong?' _Honestly Kasumi couldn't answer herself. She never felt right blaming others, for anything really. Perhaps that was why it was so easy for all those years to simply sit back and casually ignore all the times Akane falsely accused Ranma of something, only for him to retort with an insult and watch it deteriorate from there. She guessed if she really had to blame anybody at all it would be that darn Kuno boy.

While it was difficult for anything to truly anger the eldest Tendo daughter, Tatewaki Kuno had certainly made a good go at it. _'Who did he think he was, setting all those boys after poor Akane every morning?' _For all she knew it was what had pushed Akane against boys in the first place. Maybe to Akane it didn't matter what Ranma was really like, just whether or not he had a Y chromosome. It made her feel even worse for pushing the two together, Akane should have had time to heal, to get over her stigma concerning the opposite gender before attempting any kind of relationship.

She sighed quietly to herself, lots of ifs and buts, but the past was the past and there was no sense in thinking about what could have been. She was shaken from her melancholies by grumbling coming from outside her window. She saw a shadow flash by on its way to the roof and inwardly smiled. Ranma loved to go out onto the roof and think, more than a few times she had come back late from an errand just to see him up there, staring at the moon.

She wondered how peaceful it must be with only the ambient sounds of the city and the still night air as your companions. The moon bright overhead, lighting the streets in a light blue that cast a supernatural glow over the city. Her curiosity got the better of her as she found herself up out of bed, already moving towards the window.


	7. Out of the Horse's mouth

As Kasumi opened the window the first thing she noted was that it was cold, yet strangely not in a way that discouraged her. Instead the chill in the air, despite it being late spring, only invigorated her, in the same way one is refreshed when drinking a cold glass of water. She looked up at the sky, admiring how the lack of clouds was allowing the stars to shine a little brighter tonight. It was so rare to get a good view of the sky in Tokyo due to all the light from the city but tonight seemed special in some way.

She carefully climbed out onto the window ledge before twisting around and grabbing onto the roof. With grace remembered from her early days when her father began teaching her the art, she picked herself up and managed to climb up onto the roof tiles. She felt quite proud of her small achievement, almost adventurous in the way she had simply acted impulsively without any real thought. With a small giggle she realised this was what Ranma must feel all the time.

She noticed the boy further up on the roof with his arms crossed under his head, staring idly up at the moon, thinking Kami knows what. She thought about calling out to him but he looked so peaceful and serene just lying there, as if he hadn't a care in the world. It seemed her dilemma was solved for her as Ranma's eyes lazily looked her way, before snapping open as his body shot up in surprise.

She laughed a little, waving to the surprised boy and taking a step forward. Unfortunately she hadn't accounted for the thin layer of dew that had accumulated in the brisk night air and her foot slipped, immediately sending her stumbling backwards. Ranma was up faster than she could even follow him and before she could tumble over the edge of the roof he grabbed one of her hands, stopping what would have been a nasty fall.

Ranma was more than shocked to see Kasumi up on the roof, more so when she suddenly seemed to slip backwards, dangerously close to the edge. He was up in an instant, body moving on pure reflex and instinct as he closed the distance and latched onto her arm before gravity could take hold. He would remember looking at her, semi-stable on the edge of the roof, bathed in moonlight that seemed to make her skin glow; just thinking _'she's beautiful'. _He would later tell himself he was imagining it but for one brief instance he had looked at the woman before him and realised just how attractive she was, not cute, but truly beautiful.

He pulled her up into the middle of the roof where she would be a bit safer from falling over the edge and she graciously sat down. She was smiling around her, appreciating everything about the chill night from the gleaming stars to the almost-full moon. It was strange to see her neighbourhood from such a different perspective, kind of like looking through one eye your entire life, only to open the other and see everything differently.

"Kasumi, what were you thinking coming up here? You could have gotten hurt." It wasn't scolding, it was merely a question. She looked up to him, still smiling at her sudden shift in perception.

"I heard you come up here and I was curious." He was taken off guard, not expecting the answer at all.

"C-Curious about what?" She looked away with a smile, seeming to think about the question herself.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think I found it." As if to make her point she took another sweeping look at their surroundings. "It's beautiful up here."

"Yeah, it is." Ranma realised he had been looking right at Kasumi when he said it and turned around to hide his blush from the older girl. He scolded himself for thinking such things about Kasumi, that wasn't going to help him at all, only add fuel to the flames that were his life. Luckily she was enraptured by the view around them so she didn't notice and he managed to recompose himself before she turned around to look at him.

"Ranma, could we talk for a little bit?" He nodded slowly, still rather embarrassed about the way he had just acted. He sat down next to the older girl and they sat there for a while, both just enjoying the view of the neighbourhood, lit by the light of the moon and the hazy glow coming from the city centre. "Ranma, do you love Akane?" It didn't matter the circumstances or the asker, that type of question always put Ranma immediately on the defensive. Yet as he looked at the older girl, ready to deny all his feelings and hide the truth, he just found that he couldn't.

"I don't know." His whole body seemed to slump with the exertion of even admitting that much. At the same time it was like a small weight being lifted and he found the rest flowed with a bit more ease. "I used to, or at least, I think I used to. Pop never really did explain love and relationships or that kinda stuff." He looked up at the girl sadly, on one level he wasn't sure why he was able to say all of this stuff after bottling it up for so long, yet at the same time he realised it couldn't have been anybody else who could make him say it this easily.

"When we first met and she asked if I wanted to be her friend, I felt happier than I had in a long time. Since Ukyo there wasn't really anybody I could call a friend. Then we found out we were engaged and at first I almost thought it would be alright. For a long time I maintained that view, even through the criticisms and the names because I just thought she wasn't ready to get married, something I agreed with completely." Kasumi kept listening, allowing the boy to let it all out uninterrupted.

"Akane's great. She's strong, independent..." He smiled a little wistfully "...and she's cute when she smiles." His eyes grew a little darker again "Except it just kept going on, for two years she never changed. I kept trying to earn her trust, saving her time and time again, only to be told she didn't need saving. Then the times I didn't she asked why I didn't. It's like even she didn't know what she really wanted." He slumped down again, nearly making Kasumi move forward to catch him but he didn't fall, instead just staring at the tiles on the roof as if he could look through them if he stared hard enough.

"I guess I do still love her, maybe, but with every argument, every barbed insult or strike from that stupid mallet, I can feel that love start to drain away." He looked exhausted as if the air had been let out of him and he had just deflated. Kasumi was ready to cry, what he had said had been beautiful and she only wished Akane had heard it. Now more than ever she realised that if her sister didn't act soon she would in fact lose Ranma forever. She barely heard the part of her mind that asked why that would be so bad.

He looked up and Kasumi could tell he was saddened at hearing his own words, at finally admitting to himself the truth he had been hiding for so long. Yet, she could see his eyes were a little clearer and the corner of his mouth was already trying to curl into a smile, even if it wasn't quite succeeding. He suddenly turned to her, and this time his were the eyes that were searching, looking into hers for answers.

"What about you Kasumi?" She was a little startled by the sudden change.

"W-What about me?" She wasn't one to stumble over her words easily but here she was, unable to speak coherently under Ranma's penetrating gaze. She looked into his slate blue eyes, trying to find out just what he meant before he said it.

"I mean, I never see you with anybody." He spoke quietly. "What about Dr Tofu?" She looked away, not wanting him to see her as she wiped away a single tear that had managed to break through her many defences. It was direct, nobody had ever been that straightforward about the relationship between her and the good doctor.

"I, um, oh my, well I-" Once again she found herself unable to cobble together even the simplest sentence under his gaze. Yet his eyes weren't judging, or disapproving, they only encouraged her to carry on and let her own feelings out. If she would have allowed herself, she would have slumped forward in much the same manner as Ranma had only a few minutes ago. However she remained upright and kept her gaze with Ranma, drawing in a deep breath before continuing.

"Like you and Akane, I thought there may have been something there. Of course I saw his silly antics with the skeleton and the like for what they were and for a while they were amusing." Her head drooped imperceptibly. "I waited for him to stop, gave him plenty of opportunities, always going over to the clinic for this or that, hoping he'd get less flustered." She sighed and looked back up at Ranma. "But he never did. He never changed, never grew up." Ranma was starting to worry, seeing just how much this was saddening Kasumi.

"I couldn't even make the first move. He would never really listen to what I had to say, always flying off in one of his strange behaviours" She sighed deeply, if there was a more heartbreaking sound then Ranma hadn't heard it yet. "Then he disappeared for that spell, only to come back, suddenly with a fiancée that his mother had apparently found for him." Ranma was now curious, he hadn't heard this before, but he did remember when Dr Tofu was gone for a few months.

"So no, there can't be anything between Ono and me." She smiled up at him sadly from behind the hair that had fallen across her eyes. At that moment Ranma had the uncontrollable urge to reach across and brush the hair from her face, without fully understanding why. What he did do was slowly reach across to the older girl and pull her into a brief hug, trying to mimic what she had done for him as thanks for her day off.

He remembered how good it had made him feel at the time and now tried to pass along those same feelings to her. He pulled away and noticed she was smiling a little more, as well as having developed a small blush across the bridge of her nose. She was embarrassed because when he had been trying to comfort her with a hug she had only thought about the way his arms made her feel so safe and the feeling of his chest lightly pressing into her own.

Ranma looked around, anxiously awaiting the near-inevitable scream of 'RANMA!' from Akane or somebody else. When it never came he visibly relaxed, looking across at Kasumi who looked deep in thought over something. Once again, as the moonlight caught her hair and he sat, so focused on her own thoughts, Ranma couldn't help but notice just how beautiful the girl- no, woman before him was. She looked up and giggled with her hand over her mouth as he shook his head of the distracting thoughts, quite literally.

"Thank you for that Ranma, it helped." Her brow furrowed again before she smiled brightly. "Did I tell you that on my day off I met an old friend from school?" Ranma shook his head, confused at the sudden turn in the conversation. "She graduated from university with a degree in psychology and just set up a local practise. Maybe she could help you." Ranma was suddenly incredulous over the remark.

"Um, that's alright Kasumi. I don't think I need professional help." She looked up at him, once again with sadness tingeing her features.

"Ranma, do you remember your outburst?" He nodded, how could he forget such a thing? "Well what if it hadn't been me who came up to you? You might have hurt somebody." Suddenly all the fight left Ranma as he mulled over that one fact. His whole life he had been taught that the study of martial arts was for the good of those around him, to help and protect the people he cared about. If he started to use it to hurt innocent people; then he just couldn't live with himself after that.

"Well, if you really think it might help I guess it couldn't hurt." She smiled a little brighter, encouraging his own smile to form, he couldn't help it; the woman's attitude was just infectious. Suddenly he noticed Kasumi shiver and realised just how cold it had been getting. He carefully helped her back into her room before leaving for his own. It almost felt silly, a therapist, just how bad was his life getting if he needed a psychologist's help? Kasumi's face drifted over his thoughts suddenly. 'W_ell, not all bad.'_

* * *

True to her word Kasumi scheduled a visit for Ranma with her friend for Saturday. He was nervous about it of course but at the same time a little excited. He of course told nobody else about it, mainly out of embarrassment but also because he didn't want this to get back to his parents. Genma he could handle, despite the childish tantrum he would go into about manliness there wasn't much he could do to stop Ranma. It was his mother he didn't want worrying about him.

He waited anxiously as Friday came and went without much incident but even Akane seemed to notice that he acted like he was waiting for something. She confronted him just as he was about to leave the house.

"Where are you going?" He turned nervously, having wanted to keep this between him and Kasumi, at least until he saw how the first session went. He thought about lying to Akane but quickly realised that would only give her more reason to be angry at him when she found out the truth, something that always seemed to happen eventually.

"I'm going out to see a friend of Kasumi's." There, that seemed neutral enough and it was completely true. Akane didn't seem to think so and her curiosity and suspicions were only piqued.

"Why?" Ranma groaned inwardly. _'Couldn't she just let one go?'_

"Kasumi said it might be a good idea to talk to her 'cause she's a therapist." He was mumbling the last part but Akane managed to catch it.

"What? Why do you need to see a therapist?" Ranma shushed her quickly.

"Quiet, I don't want Mom finding out, she'll only worry. Like I said, Kasumi thought it would be a good idea." Akane made a note to confront her sister about this later, first she had acted strangely on Thursday night, now this.

"Yeah but wh-?" She looked up from her musings only to see that Ranma had already taken off without her noticing. She ran outside, hoping to catch the boy before he ran too far but he was already gone. _'Urrrgh, that baka'._ She wandered back inside, intent on finding Kasumi and demanding an explanation.

She found her sister in the kitchen, happily chopping vegetables for a soup and for a minute Akane couldn't help but watch her wistfully, wondering why cooking couldn't come to her that easily. Of course cooking wasn't easy for Kasumi, at least at first. She had spent countless hours under her mother's tutelage working on recipe after recipe until she had the entire book perfected. But Akane couldn't know that, she was much too young at the time and her mind was on other things.

"Kasumi, why is Ranma going to see a therapist?" Kasumi nearly dropped the knife she was holding, like Ranma she had hoped that Akane wouldn't find out this early.

"I told him to." Well at least that confirmed Ranma's story somewhat but Akane was still suspicious.

"But why?" Kasumi finished up on the leek she was chopping before turning around, calmly placing the knife back in its holder.

"Ranma's been under a lot of stress lately what with his fiancées and fighting, not to mention that whole affair in China that seemed to change everybody somewhat. I thought that talking to somebody impartial might do him a world of good."

Akane watched her sister for a few moments _'Now why couldn't Ranma have just said that? It all makes so much sense when Kasumi says it.' _"He wouldn't need a therapist if he just stopped stringing along those other girls"

Kasumi sighed again, not believing that she was having another of these conversations with her sister in such short a time. "Oh Akane, don't you see that Ranma has no choice?" One curious look later she continued. "He cares about Ukyo and Shampoo, possibly not in the way you think he does, but he cares nonetheless. If he just 'stopped stringing along those other girls' he would hurt their feelings." Akane didn't seem to mind that fact all that much and for a moment Kasumi was quite disappointed with her sister. "You know what Ranma's like around a crying girl, he'd do anything to make them stop. Do you really think he could do that to two people he cares about?"

Akane just huffed. "Well if he cared about me as much as you say he does then he would."

Again Kasumi looked down on her little sister with disbelief at how thoughtless she was for the feelings of those around her. "Akane, how can you say that?"

She looked indignantly back at her older sister before walking off in a strop as Kasumi looked on, shocked at her behaviour.

* * *

The building was nothing special, just a simple whitewashed four story apartment block. He walked up to the front door and cautiously peered through into the small corridor that had various mailboxes at one end for the tenants and a flight of stairs at the other. He looked over the intercom on one side of the door and tentatively pressed the button with the name Kasumi had given him. He was buzzed in without a word and soon he was standing in front of apartment 3A, hand raised ready to knock. He didn't have to as before he could put his hand forward the door opened from the inside and a kindly looking woman of Kasumi's age looked him over.

"Hello, you must be Ranma. Kasumi said you would be coming over today. I'm Dr Haruno; I want you to consider this as a safe place, somewhere where you can talk without fear of consequence or judgement." As she said it she stood aside to let Ranma by and he took in the small space. This obviously wasn't the woman's apartment; that much was obvious. It was warmly lit but the blinds were closed to the outside world. There was a couch in one corner with a chair at one end and a small table with a potted plant at the other.

"Please take a seat on the couch Ranma." Having missed many of the television tropes of the nineties until this point Ranma didn't realise just how clichéd the entire set up was. He happily, but cautiously went and sat down on the couch and Dr Haruno came and sat down on the chair next to him. He took a moment to look her over but there wasn't much to distinguish her from a normal twenty-something year old. She had jet black hair held back in a bun and she wore a light skirt with a matching blouse with a doctor's coat slung over top.

"I understand that Kasumi told you about me because of stress. What is it in your life that's causing you stress?"

Ranma chuckled. "I don't really think I could pinpoint it doc."

She smiled at him. "Please, call me Yuhi. If you can't think of one specific thing, let's try something a bit more general. Why don't you tell me about your life as a whole?"

Again Ranma laughed. "You want the long version or the longer version?" Yuhi smiled, it was common for people to make jokes when questioned and it was many people's first layer of defence against disapproval or just when they're nervous.

"Why not surprise me?" The doctor leaned back in her chair, indicating for Ranma to begin. What followed was Ranma's life in story form, he tried to shorten it by leaving out anything he considered fairly irrelevant or every-day but thought he at least covered all the major points. He told her about him being promised in marriage before he was born, the Seppuku contract and Genma taking him on the training trip. He talked about his years of intensive training including the Neko-ken and other methods his father had used. He slowed down a bit when he got to Jusenkyo and the Amazon village. Then he moved on to his experiences in Nerima, the chaos that surrounded his life from that point, the multiple fiancées and various relationships he formed. He talked about his rivals and enemies, people he had to fight on a daily basis and those who he only ever saw once. He finally finished by talking about his whole experience in China with the Musk and Saffron before the failed marriage and skimmed over the last couple of weeks.

The doctor took it all in with complete silence and a smile but Ranma could easily see her look of utter disbelief as his story went on. It made him uncomfortable, especially when she jotted things down on her clipboard and moved it away when he tried to see what she was writing. When he was finished with his tale he sat up, looking at her expectantly as he waited for her to finish scribbling notes. She looked up at him as well a few times and each time he could see she was trying to puzzle out if the boy in front of her was delusional or crazy and he eventually had enough.

"Okay, I can see you don't believe me, it's pretty understandable I guess." She smiled at him sheepishly but didn't acknowledge what he said. Instead he got up with a sigh and walked over to the water cooler she had in the corner of the room. He opened the tap and stuck his hand under the cold water as the doctor watched him curiously. Her intrigue turned to amazement as she saw the transformation first hand and soon she was scratching out many of the old notes she had made and was hurriedly scribbling down new ones in their place.

"Well at least now you can believe some of what I said, but I assure you it's all true." She nodded off handily as she continued to write, her face scrunched up in concentration as Ranma moved to sit back down on the couch. Suddenly she reached across and gently prodded Ranma in the chest, to which he immediately flinched back from.

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

The older woman smiled, embarrassed. "Sorry, I just had to make sure, but wow it really is real and everything." Ranma just sat back, grumbling to himself that nobody ever believed him. The doctor took a few more minutes writing down notes, allowing Ranma to make use of the small kitchen in the apartment to heat up some water and change back. He sat back down, shaking the water out of his hair and waited with increasing anxiety for Yuhi to start talking.

"Well, I'm sorry about not believing you before Ranma but now we have that dealt with I believe we can properly start this session." Ranma shot up from his seat.

"Hey, what was all that other stuff then?" She smirked at him from behind the clipboard.

"Oh that's just background information, the bare bones to let me get to know you a bit better. Now we go a bit more in depth. I've at least isolated that your main area of concern is the issue with your fiancées as well as almost the same problem with your rivalries and constant fighting. I would also say there are some underlying unresolved parental issues but those go deeper and won't help you right now." She gave him a very clear, very assertive look that almost made him think she was looking right through you.

"I think your main issue is trust Ranma." He looked at her strangely. "You were never taught basic emotional inhibition, that much I can tell from what you told me about your father." He continued the strange look, waiting for her to get to the point. "What I mean is essentially you are too trusting. While trust is not a bad attribute in its own right, too much trust is as bad as too little. Unlike others who may only expect the worst from others, in most cases you rarely do. You want to believe that if you hope for the best from another they will in time provide it. This has gotten you in more than a bit of trouble. It is this same problem with trust that is driving your problems with your fiancées."

"Hey I trust them because they're my friends!"

She smiled again. "That's exactly what I mean. You never learned when to put emotional distance between yourself and anybody you care about. I can see this as a textbook case with your fiancée..." She briefly consulted her notes "...Akane. You continue to put faith in her improving her behaviour despite her never extending the same courtesy. This only enables her to create a negative feedback loop that will only make things worse between the two of you." Ranma looked hopelessly out of his depth so Yuhi clarified.

"In essence, you allow her to hit you despite being fully able to stop it. This in turn gives her the feeling that you deserve what she does to you, making it easier and easier for her to simply hurt you with less and less cause."

He looked up, brow furrowed; the metaphorical steam could literally be seen coming out of his ears. "So wait, you're saying Akane hits me... just because I _let_ her?"

She frowned. "Well it's not quite as black and white as that but essentially yes. If she has no reason to believe what she's doing is wrong or harmful, why would she have a reason to stop doing it? Akane herself seems quite interesting, classic anger management case, probably due to paranoia and self-esteem issues."

Ranma looked up, surprised. "What? Self-esteem?"

Yuhi looked up, realising she'd been rambling. "Oh, that's unimportant, we're here to talk about you. Anyway I wouldn't be in any position to judge somebody without actually talking to them first." She smiled at him, trying to cover up her little slip. "Anyway Ranma, I never really asked, what do you hope to gain out of these sessions?"

He looked around nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Um, well, they weren't really my idea so, um, I'm not really sure. I guess if I don't blow up again like last week that would be great." He smiled awkwardly.

"Ah yes, as I understand it Kasumi was the one to recommend me to you." She noted the quick expression that went across Ranma's features at the mention of Kasumi's name, so fast that even he mightn't have noticed it. "Ranma, what do you think made Kasumi do that?"

Again he gulped nervously before letting his head slump down. "She thought I might hurt somebody otherwise."

She nodded, pencil in mouth. "Yet last time you didn't hurt Kasumi, even though she approached you in your, what I can only describe as a feral attitude."

His head shot up in defiance. "Well of course not. It's Kasumi, I could never hurt her!"

She smirked, exactly the reaction she had been expecting. "And why is that? From what you told me, in your own words, you were ready to strike down anybody who came near you, regardless of who it was. What made you hesitate? And why Kasumi?"

Ranma was suddenly very nervous about this line of questioning. "Why are we suddenly talking about Kasumi?"

She smirked. _'They're always defensive.'_ "It's just a simple question Ranma."

He resigned himself, not even sure why he was fighting so defiantly in the first place. "Well, it's Kasumi. She's the only one who's always been there for me. She's like the only calm point that I can always be sure won't turn against me."

She smiled lightly again. '_And he never realised he had trust issues when he's ready to admit that?' "_Do you think Kasumi returns these feelings?"

He once again nearly shot out the sofa. "What? How would I know?"

She tilted her head a little, trying to subconsciously make him see that she wasn't threatening him. When he didn't calm down she let up, he obviously wasn't ready to talk about that just yet. "Hmm, perhaps you should think about that." She turned and looked at the clock, they were almost out of time before her next patient had to come in. "Listen Ranma, you want some quick advice?" He nodded, enthusiastic about any shortcuts he could take. "It won't solve your problems, not by a long shot, but it'll quiet them down for a while." He looked on, expectant as ever. "Take a vacation." His brow immediately furrowed. "Nothing too big, just a few days away from everybody, but make sure they don't know where you're going." He nodded slowly.

"How's that supposed to help?"

She smirked again, not even bothering to hide it behind her clipboard. "It'll give you some quiet time to think about things, help you sort them out without others trying to tell you how to think or act. If anything it's just a few quiet days to allow everything to settle. Perhaps it will even do the people around you some good to not have you around, let them think about what part you play in their lives." She stood up and motioned for him to do the same. "If anything Ranma, just enjoy it. Someone like you, while resilient, can't have the world on their shoulders forever."

He nodded, not quite so sure. "Well, thanks Yuhi."

She smiled, the patients didn't usually start calling her by her first name in the first session. "Oh and Ranma, take Kasumi along with you." He turned, startled.

"W-Why Kasumi?"

She smiled secretively. "We didn't talk for very long but I'm a little concerned for her. It will do her just as much good as it will you. She'll refuse of course, she's that type, but just tell her that I recommend it." Again he nodded, perhaps even more confused than when he came in. Yuhi looked on at the young man as he left her practise. _'There's something special about that one, I just hope he can realise his feelings before too long or he won't be the only one that'll get hurt.'_


	8. Vacation

"That crazy therapist wants my baby Kasumi to do what?!" Soun was practically smoking, far from his usual crying fit and it hadn't gone unnoticed by anybody in the vicinity.

"But father it's-" Kasumi tried to make her case but for once Soun was anything other than the attentive parent.

"I can't believe it! Three days away from the family? What right does she think she have?" Kasumi hadn't seen her father like this in a long time; it was almost the man he used to be before his wife's death changed his personality, possibly irrevocably.

"She's only doing what-" Once again she was cut off as her father's newfound strength eventually disappeared, leading to the first tears breaking through.

"My little Kasumi, away from home, all alone!" Kasumi's cheeks were starting to tinge with red as her father continued his tirade.

"But Ranma will-" At the mention of the young boy's name Soun turned, still blubbering.

"And you Ranma! How could you allow her to take off like this?" The teen didn't know how to react to such an accusation, he only thought he was doing what was best for Kasumi, or at least what the therapist had told him would be best. However before he could get his own point across his own father decided it was about time he butted into the conversation.

"Now what's all this about a therapist boy? You haven't gone all soft on me have you, talking about your _feelings _like some kind of girl!" He spat out the last word like it was the worst curse he could think of and it didn't go appreciated by any of the female occupants on the room. At least now Ranma could direct his frustrations onto somebody, his father he could handle.

"Now listen here Pop! I-" This time it was Ranma's turn to be cut off mid-sentence as Soun once again joined the fray, still sobbing like a child.

"Oh Ranma, why would you deceive us like this, and especially hiding it from your fiancée?!" Ranma slowly boiled as his frustrations at the fact neither him nor Kasumi were getting a word in started to take its toll. He had to admit though that the two fathers made an impressive team when it came to keeping the other side from even speaking.

"Father, don't you think-?" Even Kasumi seemed to be slightly ticked off when her various concerns went repeatedly unheard.

"Boy! The least you could do is take your fiancée Akane along with you!" Soun's tears seemed to dry a little as his partner said that."

"Why that's a great idea Saotome, maybe you should go on a vacation with Akane Ranma!" Ranma just growled a noise that finally seemed to make it through the father's thick skulls. It was a frightening, animalistic sound that seemed only possible out of the mouth of some large dog. There was a look in his eyes that matched the sound perfectly, almost reminding Kasumi of the time Ranma had almost exploded from frustration last time.

"Listen! I ain't going on a vacation! It's time away from all of you so I don't go inferno again and possibly hurt someone!" He shot a look across at Kasumi, then back to the fathers. "That includes Akane! Kasumi's only going along because the therapist says it will help her as well." Soun began to blubber once again and Genma only seemed to grow more furious at his son's defiant words.

"My Kasumi, why would-?" It was finally their turn to be cut off as Ranma didn't like being interrupted.

"No Mr Tendo. You should be able to look after yourself for a few days; you're a grown man after all. Maybe this vacation is purely for her health but in any case Kasumi deserves a vacation as much as anybody." Kasumi looked across at the boy who was so vehemently defending her, a hint of pride swelled in her chest. The finality of his words swept through the room, stealing the retort already on Genma's tongue.

Soun looked equally defeated; he could hardly argue anymore, it would only serve to make him look like a weak man, dependant on his daughter. Likewise Genma knew that he really couldn't control what his son did anymore, he sighed resentfully at the gods who had decided to give Ranma such strength of will. Nodoka looked on proudly at her son, metaphorical hearts in her eyes as she swept across to give him a hug, even as he stared frightened at the sword on her back.

"Oh my son is so manly! Sticking up for a young lady like that." She sighed briefly enough that nobody caught it. _'If only it had been for his fiancée but I'll take what I can get'_. She let her son go, leaving him with an enormous blush across his face and smiling awkwardly, unsure what to make of the reaction. In all honesty he had been expecting his mother to side with his father, as she usually did on matters concerning Akane. Now that an awkward silence had managed to settle on the room it was Nabiki who decided to send reality crashing down on the pair.

"So Ranma, how do you expect to pay for this _vacation_ exactly?" Ranma opened his mouth to retort but nothing was sent from his brain to his mouth, giving him the appearance of a fish for a few moments. Nabiki just smirked knowingly. "Come see me later Saotome, we'll work _something _out." Everybody in the room gulped, nobody wanted to be in that situation with Nabiki and now that the argument appeared to be over everyone left, rather hurriedly.

* * *

Later that night Ranma nervously walked up stairs and after a brief hesitation he knocked on Nabiki's door. Ever after defeating men with seemingly unlimited Ki and a being that couldn't actually die, he was still afraid of this one nineteen year old girl. He heard a voice telling him to come in and after a gulp and another hesitation he did so. Nabiki was calmly sitting on a swivel chair, just staring at him. She may as well have been stroking a white cat while laughing manically.

"So Ranma," a shiver went up his spine "you need some money." It wasn't a question and he knew it was true; he was practically broke, only getting money when he worked the odd job at the Nekohanten or Ucchan's. This was getting less and less frequent as he tried to be nicer to Akane, which included spending less time around the other girls. Nabiki leaned across her desk, casually reaching into her drawer, it was innocuous enough but Ranma still felt a sweat drop roll down from his forehead to his chin.

"Here you go." And with that she chucked across a small bundle of notes, much to Ranma's amazement. He stared up at her in disbelief while she just took one glance at the look on his face and burst out laughing.

"B-B-B-B-But..." her smile only grew as he stood there bumbling before she took on somewhat a more dignified expression.

"Really Saotome, don't read too much into it. I'm doing this for Kasumi, you and that therapist are right; she does need a vacation more than anyone." She took a strange look at him; she had been there to witness Ranma's outburst firsthand. "Except maybe you." Ranma had finally managed to close his jaw but he was still staring at the bundle of papers in his hands like they would simply disintegrate if he looked away. Nabiki sighed, used to people acting nervously around her; she had earned the name Ice Queen of Furinkan for a reason after all.

"I assume you also haven't given any thought to where you'll be going either?" Ranma managed to break his gaze from the money in his hands and shook his head slowly. "Well you have a break next week right? So I recommend going then."

Ranma finally managed to break out of his almost hypnotised stupor. "G-Go where?"

Nabiki smirked, glad he finally asked. "I've booked a three day stay at a not too local spa resort, it'll be nice for Kasumi to go and relax there without having the house to worry about." She smiled, as if remembering some fond memory. "And don't worry, I can personally recommend them." Before Ranma knew it he was back outside the room, clutching the small bundle of Yen and walking away from the door, not quite sure what happened.

* * *

Time flew by until it was time for the two of them to leave for the train that would take them to the resort. Ranma calmly stood by the open door, actually thankful that the time had gone so quickly. He had felt Akane get more and more frustrated as the time grew near and his only thoughts were _'I don't want to be here when that bomb goes off.´ _Kasumi on the other hand wasn't quite so enthusiastic to go. Every time they were ready she would quickly rush off somewhere to check on one thing or another or remind Nabiki about something or once again make sure that her father was going to be alright.

In the end it was only Ranma and Nabiki both pushing the older girl out the door which finally got them moving. Nabiki wasn't about to let her sister waste her time relaxing, especially when she had already paid for everything. Ranma just didn't want to miss the train or the bus that was taking them to the resort. He turned around when he reached the end on the path marking it as Tendo property and waved a hearty goodbye to his parents as well as the remaining Tendo's.

He watched them all individually, judging their reactions. Nodoka happily waved back to him, as did Nabiki surprisingly. Soun looked on the verge of tears watching his eldest leave for longer than he was comfortable with and Ranma was astounded he had kept it in this long. Genma was also nervously waving after his wife had decided to unsheathe her katana, just a little bit. He then noticed that Akane was nowhere in sight, already having gone back into the house.

* * *

The train and bus rides actually went by in a rather awkward silence for the two vacationers. Neither knew quite what to say to the other now that they were finally on their way even though both desperately wanted to break the silence that had somehow managed to nest between them. All they could do was watch the city slowly shrink into suburbs before finally giving way to the Japanese countryside as the bus took them further and further from Tokyo.

Both blew an internal sigh of relief when they finally got off the bus at their stop. Those internal sighs quickly turned into very external gasps of amazement as they stool looking up at the impressive building before them. It looked very much to be a five-star hotel, many stories tall built out of gleaming black stone which shone in the daylight. Ranma just tried to figure out how Nabiki managed to pay for all this but didn't have much time as he was quickly ushered in by the waiting staff.

The concierge at the front desk merely looked at him expectantly, wondering why an unkempt youth was standing before his desk. Luckily it was Kasumi who saved Ranma from looking like a fool as she quietly but still with confidence approached the concierge.

"My sister Nabiki made reservations here for Ranma and myself." The man seemed unimpressed and slightly bored, and raised an eyebrow at the two. "Um, Tendo." He tiredly looked down the list on his desk and spotted the name next to a three day reservation. He relayed the information to two off the staff and soon the awaiting guests were stripped of their bags.

"Room 1608" He didn't say anymore as he handed Ranma the key and went back to reading the newspaper. Ranma just stood there holding the key.

"And?"

The man looked up annoyed from his paper. "And what?" Ranma was actually starting to get tired of this man's behaviour.

"And where's the other key? There are two of us."

The man once again looked down the list and languidly pointed out the reservation to the pigtailed youth. "Tendo reservation for two, three days, one room. 1608" He punctuated each individual number before returning to his newspaper, a little disgruntled at the boy. Ranma was about to retort when Kasumi lightly grasped his arm.

"It's alright Ranma, I'm sure this was expensive enough for Nabiki as it is." He hadn't considered that and meekly smiled at the older girl.

"Oh yeah, I hadn't thought of that." The two made their way over to the elevator and punched in floor sixteen before suffering a ride up in agonizingly bad elevator music. When they finally got out Ranma was covering his ears.

"And this is supposed to be relaxing?" Kasumi giggled lightly and he felt better, already forgetting about the irritating concierge. They found their room quickly enough and Ranma used the key card to get in, only to stare in shock at what he found. The room was beautiful, delicately lit by a few lighting features dotted around the room. It was mostly elegantly carved wood and glass that gave them an amazing view of the hot springs outside as well as the surrounding country which stretched on in a vista of serenity and nature.

Except that Ranma wasn't staring at that, instead he was looking straight at the large double bed in the centre of the opposite wall. Kasumi joined him and also looked at the large bed in some wonder before turning to one of the staff who was already leaving.

"I'm sorry but there must be some confusion, there should be at least two beds, we aren't a couple." The man just shrugged, muttering that they were fully booked and this was the only room left for another month. Ranma just placed his hand on her shoulder and shrugged.

"It's alright Kasumi, I'll just sleep on the couch."

She shook her head quickly. "Oh I couldn't ask you to do that."

He just laughed gently, knowing that she would refuse. "It's alright; if I can sleep on a forest floor then I can manage a couch." As if to prove his point he gracefully jumped across the room to land in the middle of the couch. "It's pretty comfy too!" He grinned at her and she couldn't help but smile back at his enthusiasm.

"Well if you're sure it's alright..." He nodded at her, still grinning like crazy, and she kept smiling as she moved slowly around the room. Ranma just jumped up off of the couch and grabbed his bag, already pulling out his clothes in an untidy heap in one corner. Eventually he stood triumphantly holding a pair of swimming trunks before moving toward the bathroom.

"I'll give you some privacy to change Kasumi." She looked up from the small statuette she had been admiring.

"Change for what?" He just smiled cheerfully.

"Come on, I wanna hit the pool as soon as possible!" She blushed embarrassed but before she got a chance to object he was already in the bathroom. She sighed and just decided to go along with it, once again the teen's enthusiasm was just infectious. He finished up quickly but politely waited for her to tell him she was decent, when she did so he emerged and his jaw hit the ground. Kasumi was standing, blushing at his look, wearing a two piece swimsuit.

Ranma could only remember one other time he had seen Kasumi wear anything like this, the whole miss beachside affair. As he remembered Kasumi had actually won that by quite a bit. He had been plenty distracted at the time but now he could clearly see why. It was a simple lilac strapless bikini but it showed of her amazing figure better than anything Ranma could think of. In fact he was so used to her in her usual dress and apron that he couldn't tear his eyes away. She merely blushed as he continued to stare, not saying a word.

"Oh my, I knew it was too much but Nabiki insisted." She shyly looked away and snapped Ranma out of his trance.

"No, no, Kasumi!" She looked at him inquisitively. "You look incredible!" She blushed an even deeper shade of red, unable to look Ranma in the eyes after the compliment. Luckily he had the decency to look away at that point, he wasn't a pervert like Happosai but with Kasumi it was hard not to look. It was her turn to look at him in his bright red swimming trunks, showing of his upper body and legs. She nearly turned the colour of his trunks when she started to note how toned his body was, a small part of her starting to realise just why this teen had so many girls chasing after him.

"Um Ranma, aren't we going to the pool?"

He looked up smiling but a little confused. "Um, yeah?"

She looked away to hide the blush that was only now starting to recede. "Well, won't you just turn into a girl when you swim?"

He looked at her happily, like he was glad she asked and he quickly ran back into the bathroom before emerging with a bar of soap held proudly in his hands. "Nah, I got this!" She looked at it; it simply looked like any other bar of soap she had seen. "It's waterproof soap; it stops the transformations for a little while. It isn't permanent but I figure it's enough for maybe an hour's swim." He looked exceptionally happy; it had been a long time since he could go for a swim as a guy. She smiled, happy that Ranma could be so excited about the simple act of swimming.

They made their way down to the pool with both Ranma and Kasumi getting a few appreciative glances from male and female passersby. Both felt equally uncomfortable under the gaze of their respective opposite genders, although for Ranma it wasn't nearly as bad as getting gawked at as a girl. They were grateful to make it out onto the pool area where there were at least a few other young people in swimwear to draw attention away from them.

Of course now that the attention was off of Ranma he immediately felt the need to return it to him. He gave Kasumi a sly grin before immediately taking off for the diving board. He passed the first, second, then third board, eventually reaching the tallest one. A few people looked up to watch him either do something impressive or fall, either way they got a good show. The pigtailed teen didn't disappoint however and using his advanced skills in mid-air combat he took off from the board with grace and twisted through the air in increasingly complicated manoeuvres before soundlessly sliding into the water with nothing more than a ripple, as if a pebble went into the water rather than a person.

He received quite a bit of clapping when he finally broke the surface, grinning like a madman at the attention as Kasumi quietly looked on, pleasantly smiling at his antics. He quickly looked down to make sure nothing had appeared or disappeared and let out a massive sigh of relief when he found that everything was in its correct place and he was still a guy. He quickly did a few laps of the pool, once again impressing more than a few girls with his speed and endurance, even though he was barely making any effort.

Eventually he grew tired of it and treaded water for a while, looking around at the spacious pool. He noticed that Kasumi hadn't even moved from the position he left her in, she nervously glanced around, frozen in indecision about what to do. He picked himself up out of the pool in an overly dramatic flip before walking over to her. He noticed a few girls start to walk towards him, grinning in a way he recognised from a certain Amazon. However when they noticed just who he was walking towards they hesitated before backing off.

"Hey Kasumi, what ya doing?"

She looked at him, smiling sheepishly. "I'm so used to being out at things like his with my family, it just seems strange to be here without them."

He sighed, afraid that something like this might happen. "Well I'm here, do you want to go swimming?" She looked toward the pool and shook her head a little, but it was enough for Ranma to catch. "Well how about we just sit and talk?" She looked up at him, surprised at the offer.

"But I thought you wanted to swim, what about the waterproof soap?"

He just shrugged, grinning. "Eh, I got our whole time here to go swimming whenever I like, plus I got enough soap to last me a week." She still seemed unsure so he took her time, trying to smile in a reassuring way before leading her over to the loungers on the other side of the pool. It took a while but eventually Kasumi came out of her shell enough for Ranma to start talking to her. They talked for a long time, about nothing in particular, fond memories of Nerima, some childhood experiences. As she talked she found that Ranma seemed just as enraptured with her words as she was with his incredible stories.

She couldn't know that Ranma was so interested because to him, a normal life sounded far more fantastical than anything from his own. To him fighting and magic and rescuing the damsel in distress wasn't just a story, it was his life and it was far more interesting to hear the funny anecdotes of Kasumi's childhood. For him, the mundane was fantasy, in his mind the fantasy of a normal life where the weight of the world didn't have to sit on his shoulders. Before long, or at least long to them, they realised it was getting dark outside and the pool was slowly emptying of people.

They talked a bit longer, watching idly as the last of the people trickled out of the spacious pool, leaving them all alone. Ranma suddenly smirked out of the corner of his mouth in a way that spoke of confidence and mischief. Immediately Kasumi was interested, what girl could have resisted such a smile? She knew she should have been better than that, been more mature but even so she found even her tremendous willpower wilting under that smile.

"Hey Kasumi, do you mind if I tried something with you?" Kasumi immediately blushed, all sorts of inappropriate images flashing through her mind that had no place being there.

"What Ranma?" He smiled again and took her hand, leading her over to the edge of the pool. "Oh, like I said Ranma I don't really want to go swimming." Her concern was only met with the same grin.

"Don't worry, you won't get wet. I've been wanting to try this ever since we got down here but I didn't want to draw attention to myself." Kasumi was really starting to wonder what Ranma was up to now; normally he couldn't care less what other people saw him doing. He let go of her hand and started to walk towards the water as Kasumi watched, for some reason entranced with such a mundane action.

He walked at a steady rate towards the water and when the boundary of the pool approached he just kept going. He took one step on the surface of the water, then another, until he turned, staring at a now very shocked Kasumi.

"Ranma! You're walking on water!" He smirked again, doing a few experimental jumps to test his control of this new power.

"Yeah, pretty cool right?" Kasumi could only nod in stunned agreement, cool indeed. "I realised that if I can direct Ki out of my hands in a blast, then why not out of my feet in a controlled burst, I think it's sort of the same principle that Herb uses to fly." Kasumi didn't quite get the reference, never having seen Herb or his incredible ability to defy gravity. However she was too shocked at his next action to even comprehend that. He raised a hand and beckoned her over.

"Come on, your turn!" She just stared at him dumbly, a look that didn't quite suit her features.

"But Ranma, I can't do what you can do."

He smiled at her, this time the cockiness and mischievous look was gone, replace by a warm comforting smile. "Trust me."

And with those two words she did trust him, after seeing all the incredible things this young man could do, as well as the strain he was under daily, and now this, she simply gave herself up to that trust. She raised an arm and he took her hand, suddenly there was a spark of what felt like electricity running through her body and spreading warmth from the point of contact with Ranma down to her feet. "Don't let go of me." And with that he pulled her forward suddenly.

She squeaked with surprise, covering her eyes for the splash but when it never came she cracked her eyes open a bit and looked around. There was Ranma, his beam even greater as he looked at something by her feet. She too looked down, only to see nothing but crystal clear water below her. She tried to jump back, fearing she was just going to fall through that deceiving transparent floor but a strong grip held her in place.

She took a tentative step forward, watching her feet make ripples in the water as she looked down but never going through its surface. She looked up at Ranma in utter shock.

"I'm walking on water." The tone of disbelief in her voice made Ranma laugh but he didn't let go of her hand.

"Yeah, you are" She looked down again, still not quite believing what was going on, perhaps she would wake up in a few moments back in her normal room in the Tendo house and this would all be some wonderful dream. Ranma started moving, taking her with him as he walked further out from the edge, toward the centre of the pool. She had no choice but to follow if she didn't want to end up drenched but with each step she grew more confident, much to the delight of Ranma as he looked back. They reached the middle of the pool and Ranma looked around satisfied while Kasumi also looked around, marvelling at everything.

"What now?" The question caught the pigtailed boy off guard and he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Um, I dunno. Didn't really think that far ahead, I just thought it would be cool." Suddenly the lights in the pool switched off, their automatic timer plunging the whole room into a twilight state created by the light of the moon filtering into the pool. Kasumi looked around a little nervously at the eerie darkness but a comforting squeeze from Ranma's hand scattered her various doubts. The teen emitted a very protective aura that one couldn't help but feel safe while enveloped in.

Now that the room as dark and quiet they could both her the faint sound of music floating in from the vents, if Ranma remembered right there was also a ballroom on this floor, although what a ballroom was doing in a spa he had-

"Oh that music is beautiful" Kasumi surprised him with the small outburst as she looked towards the source of the music, her eyes large as she took it in. Even Ranma had to admit the strange music had a sort of calming effect on him, setting a tranquil atmosphere as it echoed throughout the room. Kasumi suddenly turned to him, looking at him as if she had a question to ask him but couldn't find the strength to do so.

"Ranma, would you mind dancing with me?" it was said quietly, barely a whisper but Ranma nearly let go of her hand when she said it.

"D-dance?" She nodded meekly, already fearing that he would immediately say no. He saw this trepidation and realised that she had built up a lot of courage to ask him that. "But why?" She looked at him and smiled just as meekly as her nod.

"I just haven't danced in so long and everything just seems so perfect for it right now, it just feels like a waste to miss a moment like this." He nodded, already agreeing with her; it was that meek look and smile that just made him want to do anything for her. Maybe it was because he knew he could do so while trusting her completely, she would never take advantage of his trust, never try and deceive him, she simply wanted to dance.

He cautiously put his hand on her hip, like how he had seen men do in some of the films he had watched. She looked up, mildly surprised and he thought he had made a wrong move. However she smiled timidly and guided his other hand up to her shoulder, making sure never to break contact with him. When that was done she slowly started to move in circles, for once the guiding force of the pair as she moved against him, drawing him round in simple motions.

Ranma, ever the quick learner, soon picked up what he had to do and soon the two of them were lazily drifting around, dancing to the lulling music, standing atop the water of the pool. Kasumi rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying this wonderful moment. It didn't even fully register with her the effect all of this was having on Ranma. For once in his life the pigtailed teen was in close contact with a girl, doing something others would call romantic, yet he had no desire to run, to flee from the comforting embrace. Instead he leaned into it, unconsciously taking in the scent of Kasumi's hair.

They both danced with each other, simply enjoying the perfect moment for what it was. Soon the music stopped and the two parted, smiling. Ranma led them both off of the water and neither realised when they didn't let go of each other's hands. They went back up to the room and Ranma lay down on the sofa, ready to get some sleep and make the most out of the next day. He laughed when he saw that Kasumi had begun tidying up the small pile of clothes he had made earlier.

"Kasumi, you don't have to do that here." She looked up, red-faced, not even realising she had been doing it, acting purely on impulse. "I think the whole idea was for you to get away from that for a few days." She smiled, looking like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, but nodded, putting down the shirt she had been holding with a small sigh, but not one of disappointment, of relief.

She slid under her covers that night with the strangest feelings; all of this was just so alien to her it was definitely going to take some getting used to. She looked across the room at Ranma, already fast asleep on the couch, sleeping comfortably like he said he would. All the same she felt wrong for being the one who made him have to take the couch instead of the bed; after all she noted with a small smile it was very comfortable. A small voice in her head just as she was drifting off quickly added in _'and it was built for two.'_


	9. Sensei

When Ranma rolled off of the couch in the morning he had to reevaluate just what he had said to Kasumi yesterday. _'Even a forest floor's better than sleeping on that lumpy thing'._ He did a few stretches to work out the worst of the kinks and wandered bleary eyed into the bathroom. It was only after his shower that he noticed the small note stuck up on the large mirror. *Woke up early, went for a walk, Kasumi* He chuckled, after all who else would it have been from? Housekeeping would never do that.

He quickly got dressed and casually walked through the hallways of the floor. In the elevator he took a few moments to look down the list of things on the floor directory. He decided to just get immersed in the whole spa experience and go for a massage; after all his parents weren't here so he was able to indulge in a few 'unmanly' things while he could. He clicked the button and once again endured the horrific music as the steel box lowered itself through the massive building.

He stepped out of the box feeling a little better, smiling as he made his way through the winding corridors of the spa complex. If it hadn't been for the signs pointing him in the right direction he may never have made it back to the room, never mind get to the spa. He walked through a beaded door only to be practically hit by a wave of thick incense and heady smells that immediately made his head fuzzy. He walked up to the desk where a young Chinese girl sat reading a Manga comic, he tried to read the name but only got 'Inuya-' before the girl put the thin book down and smiled at him cheerfully.

"Are you here for a massage?" He was just thankful that her grasp of the Japanese language was better than some of the other Chinese girls he knew. He smiled pleasantly at her and suddenly the girl seemed to be paying even more attention to him, it actually unnerved him slightly.

"Um, yeah." She looked down at a small notepad with seemingly illegible scribbling across it and picked up a pen.

"Room number?" He panicked when he realised he had forgotten but luckily his room key had it inscribed on the card. "Okay then, if you go through there," She pointed down a hallway that seemed even more smothered by the aromas that permeated this place, "Chun will be with you soon." He thanked her and followed her raised arm down the corridor, turning into the first room on the right. Like the rest of the place this room was warmly lit but the scents seemed weaker, instead replaced by the slight smell of oil and flowers. He sat of the bed in the middle of the room but he didn't have to wait for long, soon he heard someone enter the room and he looked up.

"Shampoo?!" He was shocked at first, as was the young woman who entered, but when he looked closer he saw that it wasn't Shampoo. The young woman's hair was a darker shade of lilac and her features were older, more angular; however the two would have passed for sisters easily. The woman looked up at the young man in her parlour, a little shocked at his small outburst.

"Um, if you're looking for the stylist that's floor eight."

He shook his head quickly. "No, sorry, you just look a lot like somebody I know."

She smiled at him, an all too familiar smile, and he suddenly felt like running from an inevitable glomp.

"Somebody called Shampoo?" He nodded, started to hear how strange his words were. "Wouldn't you mean Xian-Pu?" He looked at her strangely, not hearing the difference in what she said and she sighed, muttering something about the Japanese under her breath. "Anyway, lay down on the table, take of your shirt and we can start." He did so with no small amount of discomfort, every time his eyes were off of the woman he expected to be mauled from behind as she shouted 'Aiyah!' He lay down and Chun began rubbing the lotion into his back, slowly working from one point of tension to the other, working in small circles designed to slowly loosen the muscles.

"Wow, you really have a lot of tension in these muscles, yet at the same time they're quite well stretched, I'm guessing you're some kind of martial artist?" He grunted as she found a particularly sensitive spot just below a nasty scar. "Sorry, I'm not really used to working physical therapy, I didn't realise any of these scars were still fresh." He mumbled not to worry about it and she continued with the massage.

* * *

Ranma was almost glad to leaving the massage parlour, while the actual massage itself was sort of relaxing there was just something wrong. Apart from the fact his masseuse looked a lot like Shampoo, something which freaked him out, there was just something missing that he couldn't place. Chun looked quite apologetic, even though he tried to smile reassuringly.

"I'm sorry, I've never worked on somebody as tense as you, maybe if you come back tomorrow-" Ranma held up a hand while fastening his shirt back up, still smiling.

"It's alright; I didn't come with high hopes. Although I might take you up on that offer." It was more said out of sympathy than anything else, Ranma knew he wasn't coming back. He left the area, giving a small parting wave to the receptionist before winding his way back through the building in the direction of the elevator. He thought about heading back up to the room but felt like that wouldn't really accomplish much; instead he hit the button for the ground floor.

He avoided the gaze of the concierge as he walked to the back of the hotel, emerging out into the hot springs area. He immediately noticed that there was no dividing wall, it was male and female springs, but he assumed that was because there were families here, and everybody was in bathing suits anyway. He grinned as a couple of kids ran past, playing some kind of high energy game that only they could enjoy for extended periods. He saw an older couple playfully scolding them but laughing at their humorous antics all the same.

He wound his way past elderly and young couples, laughing kids and men and women on their own. There were more than a few young women also checking him out but he ignored everyone, only flashing the occasional smile as people acknowledged him with a nod or a look. He found a nice secluded spot in an empty spring and slid into the steaming waters with a sigh. It felt even better than the massage as Ranma could feel all his problems and worries being leeched out by the soothing waters.

Even so, with the serene atmosphere and calming waters Ranma just couldn't find it in him to relax. There was still that missing element, something that just wouldn't allow his mind and body to calm themselves without it present. He lay his head back into the waters to try and figure it out but sat back up when he saw a familiar figure walk into the springs area. His previous problem forgotten briefly he happily waved Kasumi over to him and she smiled, walking over quickly to stand by his spring.

"Actually _in_ the water today Ranma?"

He laughed, glad that Kasumi was finally loosening up, however she still looked uncomfortable, nervous even, as she stood in her swimwear . "Are you getting in?"

He seemed to shock her out of some deep though as she looked down in embarrassment before sliding into the waters herself, sighing with relief as it began its relaxing process on her body.

"This place is just amazing Ranma. I walked around for an hour just looking at everything they have. There's an exercise room and baths and massage parlours and training halls." She looked up at him. "Except nothing I saw there was on par with you." He looked across, blushing from the compliment. He was used to people admitting that he was a good martial artist, yet coming from Kasumi the praise seemed even greater somehow.

"Uh, thanks Kasumi, so what did you decide to do?" She looked at him, some red tingeing her cheeks and he didn't know if it was from the water or something else.

"Actually Ranma I was still looking around when you waved me over, I didn't actually do anything." She looked away like she had done something wrong, Ranma tried to smile in a comforting way but she wasn't looking at him.

"It's alright Kasumi, it's not like you have to do anything. It's a vacation; if you find just walking around relaxing then you should do it." She gave him a small smile but obviously wasn't really taking his words to heart. He grinned, standing up in the spring about to say something when suddenly a wet mass landed on his shoulders with a small splat. He froze, his mouth open ready to say something, before looking down at what was on his shoulders.

His hair had come loose from its pigtail, which of course was impossible as he had tied it himself, and now hung in a limp mass down his back and on his shoulders. He turned slowly to see a young girl of maybe five smiling sheepishly, his pigtail tie in hand as she blushed. He looked back quickly at Kasumi who was only watching expectantly, waiting to see what would happen. He realised he needed to cheer her up somehow and an idea popped into his head.

"Why you little-" There was no malice or anger in the words and Ranma couldn't help but smile in the corner of his mouth. "Get back here!" it was said in a challenging sort of way and the small child's mind immediately picked up on the signal to run away. Of course Ranma could have caught up to the girl in a matter of seconds and taken the tie without any real trouble but he knew that wouldn't be fun, for him or Kasumi. He made a show of it, running after the kid almost slowly as she delightedly squealed, running away.

He chased her about for about five minutes before shooting a glancing look at Kasumi to see what she was making of all of this. She was quite happily giggling into her hand, unable to keep in her laughter as she saw Ranma make a big display of tripping over nothing or suddenly pretending he had lost the little girl. The child's parents looked on in concern at the teenage boy for a few moments but once they understood what he was doing they too watched in amusement.

Ranma looked back around and suddenly found that the little girl was gone, he wasn't even pretending anymore she had simply vanished. He stood there briefly scratching the back of his head in genuine confusion until a small hand tapped the back of his leg. He turned and saw that the little girl had somehow managed to get behind him and was now proudly holding out his tie in her hand.

"Thanks mister, that was fun!" he laughed, going a little red from being outfoxed by a five year old, still scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, it was." He closed her hand over the tie. "Keep it, I got plenty" The small child gave him a delighted grin which only made him redder looking into her glittering eyes, so full of innocence. She took off again, this time towards her parents and Ranma didn't chase her, instead making his way back towards Kasumi in the spring. When he got closer he saw there was another young man, about her age talking to her from the side. He quickly hid behind a large rock. He knew he shouldn't be listening in on Kasumi's conversations but he was curious now.

"-noticed you over here and I thought I'd come over and say hi." The guy sounded very confident and cocky; briefly Ranma wondered if that was what he sounded like to others.

"Oh, well that's very kind of you." The man grinned; it reminded Ranma sickeningly of a wolf.

"My name's Izanagi Kurosawa." Kasumi politely nodded, smiling but Ranma noticed that it was her usual smile, the one she wore at home as a mask. She was obviously quite uncomfortable with the whole confrontation; Ranma could tell by her body language.

"Kasumi Tendo" His smile increased and once again Ranma noted its wolfish likeness. He wasn't sure what he was doing with Kasumi but he could guess, for some reason he felt pangs of jealousy but suppressed them, this was Kasumi's business; he would leave her to it.

"It's nice to meet you Kasumi; perhaps you would enjoy my company further at dinner tonight?" Again she smiled that neutral smile; unfortunately Izanagi didn't know her well enough to know it wasn't a welcoming smile. Ranma started to feel his resolve on staying out of it falter.

"I'm sorry, but I'm here with a friend and it would be rude to leave them like that."

Izanagi just maintained his grin. "That's alright; your friend is welcome to come as well!" Ranma snickered from his cover and decided that would probably be a good time for him to enter. This guy obviously thought Kasumi had meant a female friend and Ranma decided to have some fun with that. It was a good thing he was wearing a top as he plunged his hand into a passing drink without the holder knowing, making him female. He rounded the corner and looked over the pair innocently as if he had only just arrived, he put on his best cutesy smile and with big round eyes he delicately asked.

"Oh Kasumi, who's this nice man?" Izanagi turned and looked over the new arrival, seemingly pleased by what he saw. Ranma's hair was still down and it flowed around him like a curtain of red. Kasumi was surprised at Ranma's transformation and wasn't quite sure why he had changed.

"This is-" The young man cut her off, rushing over to Ranma's side.

"I am Izanagi Kurosawa, and it is a pleasure to meet you." Ranma put on his best fake blush, managing to look shy as he put his hands behind his back, swaying side to side slightly.

"Ranko Saotome." Izanagi looked as though he was going to continue when suddenly Ranma broke out in a bout of coughing, the coughs and splutters wracking his body, startling the young man before him. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry about that, I'm quite sick right now." Izanagi backed off, flinching at each cough and fake sneeze as he decided it wasn't worth it.

"Well, it was nice meeting both of you ladies, now I must be off." Ranma smiled and called after him.

"Oh, but didn't I hear something about dinner?" He broke into another fit of fake coughs and Izanagi only increased his pace, making a hasty retreat from the springs. Ranma slid back into the warm water, triggering the change and laughing as he watched the boy practically run away. He looked around at Kasumi who was trying to give him a stern look but eventually that facade crumbled and she too was left laughing in small giggles.

"Ranma, that wasn't very nice to the poor man." Her voice didn't really agree with her words however.

"Nah, I could tell he was bothering you so I decided to have a bit of fun with him."

Kasumi looked startled that he had managed to see her discomfort even through her neutral smile. "How could you tell?"

Ranma smiled faintly, still caught up in the moment as he watched Izanagi disappear into the hotel. "I had to get good at reading body language, it helps in martial arts as if you can predict what your opponent is thinking or what he'll do next. It's a great advantage." He sighed. "It's also helped keep my life in check for the past two years as I balanced everything." Kasumi looked at him sadly, it seemed even here in a place of relaxation and healing Ranma couldn't evade his problems for very long. He looked up a moment, as if working something out in his head.

"Kasumi, why do you turn guys away?" This wasn't the first time he had seen things like this happen, a few guys had come over to talk to Kasumi when they were at the pool, he also remembered something similar when they were at the beach.

"It would be rude to leave you on your own." He was slightly touched that she was thinking about him when she did it but he also felt guilty.

"You shouldn't worry about me Kasumi; this is your holiday as well." She giggled as if there were some joke that he wasn't in on and he looked at her curiously.

"But Ranma, you've been doing the same thing the whole time." He looked at her, at first shocked but then disbelieving.

"What do you mean?" She giggled again then motioned for him to look around.

"There are lots of girls here that look at you, yet you haven't talked to a single one." He looked around and sure enough there were a few girls who suddenly hid their gaze when he saw them. There were also a few that were slightly bolder, continuing to look right at him, even when he gazed back. He gulped when one girl winked at him very suggestively. Kasumi stood up from the spring and stood to the side, slowly dripping on the floor as she looked back down at Ranma, realisation now in his eyes.

"For someone who claims to understand body language you seemed to have missed that particular sign." She laughed lightly, a small tinkling sound that made Ranma look up at her.

"So... you didn't talk to those other guys... because of me?" He got up out of the spring and hung his head guiltily. "If I'd have know I'd-" Kasumi cut him off by pulling him forward into a hug, much to the chagrin of the few girls still watching Ranma.

"Don't worry about it Ranma, I couldn't be happier with the person I'm with." Ranma wasn't quite sure what was going on and he had nearly accomplished a full body blush as he turned a few shades redder. He also was painfully aware that there were only a few thin strips of fabric between his body and Kasumi's. Nobody could fault the teenage boy for his dedication to self control. Kasumi released him, smiling gently, and slowly walked back towards the hotel with Ranma, still rather shell shocked, in tow.

They got back to the room and by that time Ranma had managed to gain a bit more of himself as he changed out of his wet clothes into his more traditional Chinese outfit. He sat on the couch, idly flicking through the television channels but not at all paying attention. He was too distracted, all he could think about was how good that hug had felt, he desperately tried to rid his mind of the thoughts but he couldn't, they were just too prominent.

Instead he tried to divert his thoughts; he remembered thinking about getting Kasumi to loosen up. While she seemed to have improved in that regard as of this morning she still didn't seem completely comfortable. He pondered on what he could possibly do to help her, but the only thing her really knew how to do was martial arts. It struck him then that Kasumi had complimented his art this morning, maybe if he offered to teach her some she could relax.

It sounded weak, even in his head, and he was sure she would refuse, even so his mind's proverbial wheels kept turning. It couldn't be anything too physical, the idea of hitting Kasumi just made him sick so he ran down a list of martial arts that he did know. While he did just amalgamate them into one style, Anything Goes; he still remembered what exactly made up one style or differentiated it from the other. A few struck him as acceptable but only one really struck him as perfect, it was a style that really he had no right knowing and was pure coincidence.

Kasumi surprised him by emerging from the bathroom, interrupting his train of thought as she came out wearing nothing but a towel. He immediately averted his eyes while she didn't even notice him there. Like before he knew he was no pervert but the urge to just take one look at Kasumi wrapped in a towel was overwhelming. He had never had these feelings before and they confused him to the point he became distressed. Kasumi returned to the bathroom and Ranma let out a great sigh of relief; he had almost caved into his feelings.

Now his train of thought was irrevocably derailed as all he could picture was that one fleeting glance he had gotten of Kasumi, as well as a few more of her in a bikini his mind threw in for good measure. He groaned and flopped down on the couch, wishing that he could personify his mind for a moment and introduce it to his fists. He turned the television up louder, hoping to drown out his thoughts but nothing worked.

Eventually Kasumi emerged again, this time wearing a nice dress that he had seen her wear before, but this time there was no apron covering it. It was a simple look, but it complimented her well, a fact that was once again painfully reminded to Ranma. He smiled at her, doing his best to hide his inner confusion and she smiled back, not noticing the too subtle change in the pigtailed teen.

"Hey Kasumi, I've been thinking, and it's alright if you don't want to, but, do you want to learn some martial arts?"

She looked at him sceptically for a moment, just like he thought she wasn't interested. "But Ranma, I don't want to hurt anybody."

He realised that if that was her objection then this might work after all. "No, I wouldn't do anything like that" With a not too small blush he added "I couldn't hurt you. It would be Tai Chi; it's a mostly meditative style of martial arts." Kasumi looked at him curiously, wondering why Ranma knew a style of martial arts that wasn't actually beneficial to his fighting. It didn't seem like something Genma would actively teach the boy and as if he were reading her mind he explained.

"Pop didn't teach me it. It was during our trip in China, before Jusenkyo. Pop would leave me with a dojo's sensei for a few days while he got us some money to continue our trip. I had wanted to learn the style for a while but never got the chance with Pop watching me all the time. I asked the sensei's to teach me instead. I got about four or five days with each one and I had just about mastered it by the time we got to Jusenkyo. Pop doesn't even know that I learned it, it wouldn't be _manly _enough for him." Kasumi listened patiently, intrigued by his story.

"Why are there martial arts that aren't focused on violence?" Ranma looked up, actually happy that Kasumi was taking an interest in something he knew very well.

"It's based on the idea that force meeting force only creates pain. Tai Chi uses the idea of softly redirecting the attacks instead, using calm instead of anger." Kasumi was suddenly more interested at Ranma's analogy of softness against force. He looked up tentatively. "So would you like to learn some?" Kasumi thought for a moment, it had never really been a dream of hers, nor part of her future, to learn martial arts. Her father had been insistent when she was a child as, of the three of his daughters, she showed the most promise.

She had been saved from that when Akane had really become invested in the style as a coping mechanism to deal with their mother's death and Soun was too busy grieving to stop her. However, here and now, she thought that it might be a good idea to try something new and, with a smile, she realised she couldn't have asked for a better teacher. She looked up at Ranma and nodded, bringing a grin to his own face. Ranma was finally in his element and he couldn't be happier.

* * *

Ranma stood across from Kasumi who was breathing heavily; he had tied his hair into a pigtail once again. Kasumi had only brought swimwear and dresses along with her so didn't have anything loose fitting that was appropriate for martial arts. Instead Ranma had lent her a set of his clothes, his usual black pants and a light blue, sleeveless version of his Chinese shirt. They were of a similar height so the clothes actually fit quite well and Ranma honestly thought she looked good in them.

At first Kasumi had been somewhat uncomfortable in trousers but that disappeared when Ranma had started the training. She realised now that, had she been wearing a skirt, her movement would have been severely hampered and would have affected her ability to complete the various manoeuvres. She had grown used to the feel of the material against her legs as time went on and now she was less focused on that, more so on the actual training.

Ranma was heavily impressed with his pupil, she proved an apt learner, only taking a few minutes to regain all of what her father had taught her when she was so young. It saved Ranma having to re-teach her the basics, instead launching right into the Tai Chi itself after a warm up exercise. Kasumi kept in shape but she found it difficult to keep up with the pigtailed teen as he moved and flowed through the katas he was demonstrating. It was even more worrying when she realised he was taking it easy on her.

Even so she was invigorated by the entire experience. It was new and refreshing and difficult but instead of discouraging her she only wanted to try harder and do better next time. It helped that Ranma was her teacher; he was encouraging and thoughtful, never taking her beyond her limits yet always getting her to push them herself. He was also beautiful to watch; Tai Chi was a slow, delicate style that was heightened in beauty by its calm, measured movements but even Kasumi could feel the power behind it all. After a time Ranma brought her to a stop, signalling that they were done and she looked at him in disappointment.

"Is it over already?" he smiled at her in a bemused way, a brow raised in question.

"Kasumi, we've been working for three hours." She looked over at the clock on the wall of the small dojo in amazement. She never would have thought they had spent that long, the time simply seemed to ebb away as she learned and Ranma taught. He looked at her appraisingly, "So how was it?" He was actually concerned by her answer but didn't show it, for all intents and purposes Kasumi was his first student, with perhaps more to come if he decided to go down that route and become a master.

"It was incredible." His heart did a little leap; he hadn't thought they were doing all that much to be honest, all very basic level stuff. However he realised that for somebody like Kasumi, who had been straining to do the things so ingrained into his own muscles, it must have been very different. She looked up at him with something new in her eyes he hadn't seen before, respect. "You are a great teacher Ranma, any student would be lucky to have you." He grinned stupidly at the praise.

"Well you're a good student, I couldn't believe you remembered all the basics so easily." She shrugged at him, an action he had never seen Kasumi do before, it was much too off handed for her.

"Never tell Akane but father always tells me that if he had chosen one of his daughters to take on the art it would have been me." Ranma looked at her shocked; nowhere in his mind could he imagine Kasumi out breaking bricks like Akane. Then again he rationalised that she wouldn't reduce herself to such a thing, probably more likely to actually learn new techniques rather than dwell on an old strength building exercise like it alone was enough to make her a blackbelt.

"Well I can see why, with a bit more training you could easily be Akane's equal, then with some more you could pass her." Then he smiled secretively. "But you aren't interested in that way, are you?" She shyly smiled but shook her head and he sighed. "Such a shame." She suddenly giggled with her hand over her mouth, looking at him strangely. "What is it?"

"That's what father always said." He didn't quite know how to take that, to have something in sync with Soun Tendo; he hadn't really imagined the day. They retired after that to get changed for dinner, they only had one more night and day here. Now that Kasumi was finally out of her shell she was ready to make the most of it.


	10. Upheaval

Ranma could see Kasumi bursting with excitement as the train finally reached their platform. He could barely keep up as she charged off the subway in a most un-Kasumi way. He grabbed their luggage and raced after her, only catching up when they finally emerged out into the open air with people hustling and bustling about. While Ranma had definitely enjoyed his vacation, there was just something about cities that made them feel special. Perhaps he was just used to them after living in Tokyo for two years, or maybe it was the ten years spent mostly away from large populaces and modern civilisation.

They didn't waste any time looking around and immediately took off in the direction of the Nerima district. It wasn't a long walk but it was one full of slight apprehension and anxiety as they slowly drew closer to home. Soon the garden wall was in view and Kasumi quickened her pace until she was almost jogging towards the house. Ranma couldn't help but smile as he looked at how happy Kasumi was to be coming home. He knew she too had had a good time away but he also knew that to Kasumi, not much was more important than her family.

It was strange; Ranma was so used to being greeted at the door by Kasumi, now when they walked through the doors it was Nodoka who first saw them. She ran up to the pair of them and enveloped Ranma in a very warm hug. She was surprised when he returned it, not for very long but she enjoyed the brief mother-son exchange. He parted from the hug just as Nabiki entered the hall, smirking at the pair of them.

"Hey Kasumi, Saotome." She shot a mischievous look at Ranma "Ready to pay me back yet Ranma?" His eyes went wide and a large bead of sweat rolled down his cheek. Nabiki came over, smiling, and clasped a hand on his shoulder. "I missed you Ranma, you're just too easy to mess with." She walked past him to Kasumi and the two sisters started talking animatedly about the trip. Nodoka watched the whole thing pleasantly before turning her attention back to her son.

"Well Ranma, aren't you going to greet your fiancée now?" He looked up at her, slightly startled and honestly the thought hadn't actually crossed his mind yet.

"Um, yeah. I guess." He need not have bothered as at that moment Akane came trudging down the stairs. Ranma had held mixed feelings about this moment; on some level he was happy to see Akane again, she was a friend after all. On another level he was actually a little frightened at what her reaction would be. She was obviously angry or annoyed but luckily he had talked to Kasumi and they had discussed just what to do in this situation. He quickly ran forward before Akane could say a word and scooped her up into a large hug, taking the blue-haired girl completely by surprise.

"Hey 'Kane; d'ya miss me?" Akane wasn't sure what to do, all the anger and frustration was suddenly replaced by confusion before she could even react. It was confusing because she wasn't used to Ranma acting like this and because she wasn't at all sure what to make of the hug itself. Of course Genma and Soun chose that exact moment to walk in on the arrival party, immediately the waterworks began and the signs were out.

"Oh glorious day, Ranma is back now the schools can be joined!" Genma was holding a sign much to the same effect and even as a panda you could see his grin. Akane took one look at the celebrating fathers and another at Ranma, still holding her in a hug and also staring at the fathers with exasperation. Her cheeks turned red and when Ranma turned back around he thought it was out of embarrassment. He would have been right but it wasn't just because Akane was feeling self-conscious and before he could pull back from the hug Akane's whole expression changed.

"Ranma get off of me you pervert!" Seconds later Ranma was across the room with stars dancing in front of his eyes and Akane was trudging back up the stairs. Nodoka's gaze flickered between concern for her son and confusion at what had just happened. She did however notice Kasumi immediately run over to Ranma and see if he was okay. It was subtle but the older woman had noticed a slight change in the way Kasumi had been standing; now it was more evident in the way she acted.

Nabiki sighed and wandered off muttering about how things were already back to normal. The two fathers also chose that moment to depart, happily dancing through the house as they talked about their children already arguing like a married couple. Nodoka quietly walked over to her son who was already standing back up, Kasumi looked about ready to dash of to the kitchen and get the first aid kit but Nodoka stopped her.

"That's alright Kasumi, you go unpack and I'll take care of Ranma." She looked nervously between the two but while Nodoka's voice was gentle it brokered no argument. She nodded meekly, picked up her bags and walked off. The older woman noticed how, even in his dazed state, Ranma watched Kasumi leave. She once again looked between the two young adults, wondering what she was missing and what had changed as she brought Ranma through into the living room and sat him down.

"Really mom it's okay, I'm used to it by now." That slightly worried Nodoka, why was her son used to being hit by his own fiancee? It didn't sound right at all. All she had seen in the hallway was Ranma come in and greet his fiancée with a hug, yet he had received a painful looking blow for his troubles. She had seen this sort of thing before occasionally but only thought it was a rare occurrence, maybe she needed to ask Ranma about how rare it actually was. "Anyway mom, I'm okay so I'm going to see if Kasumi needs any help unpacking."

"Ranma, could you wait here a moment? I want to talk to you." He turned on the spot, not sure if he should be nervous or not as he was sure he hadn't done anything wrong. "It's about Akane." Well at least now he knew he should be nervous. "I want to talk to you about this whole hitting business. I understand that couples tend to fight a little bit but honey don't you think that was taking it a little far?" Ranma looked across at his mother in disbelief.

"It's not my fault she hits me mom, you saw what happened in the hallway. What did I do wrong?" Nodoka winced slightly at the heat in her son's words; perhaps she was being a little harsh. "Anyway, it's not like I ask for it." Then he grumbled under his breath "I'm never asked for it." Nodoka looked up curiously, trying to figure out what he meant when he answered the question for her. "I never asked to be her fiancée but I try and make the best of it. But it sometimes feels like I'm the only one required to try and what I do is never good enough." He walked of mumbling under his breath leaving Nodoka with some thinking to do.

She walked upstairs, her son's words still fresh in her mind. _'What did he mean by that?' _She walked past Kasumi's room and saw the girl putting away her clothes and beginning the process of tidying her already immaculate room. She stepped in, watching the young woman in her element for a moment as she worked in a flash to put everything exactly where it was supposed to be. Nodoka smiled, the young woman embodied everything about the perfect Japanese housewife. She coughed, alerting the younger woman to her presence.

"Oh, hello Auntie Nodoka, is there anything I could do for you?" Ranma's mother smiled. _'Always so polite, so attentive.'_

"Actually dear there is. Could you tell me about the night Ranma chose Akane as his fiancée?"

Kasumi gulped, her face growing visibly nervous for the first time in a long time.

* * *

Ranma was out in the dojo working through a set of katas he had just developed on the fly. While it was fun teaching Kasumi Tai Chi there was nothing like getting back to his art properly. He flowed through the moves, his mind on nothing but the next step or turn, blind to all else. This was how he failed to notice the two women watching him elegantly flow through his manoeuvres until the elder one coughed noticeable. He twisted gracefully out of the air to land on his feet without a sound and turned to face the two newcomers.

He saw his mother watching him, something like admiration in her eyes for the display she had just witnessed but there was also firmness in her features. Kasumi was next to her, looking away from him and his mother shyly, trying to look at anything but his inquisitive face. He rolled his neck to relieve a cramp that had started appearing and walked over to the pair, a pleasant but cautious smile in his face.

"Uh, hey mom, I thought I told you I was alright. You don't need to check up on me."

Nodoka's smile didn't waver but her eyes grew a little harder. "It's not about that Ranma. Why didn't you tell me you never chose Akane as your fiancée?"

Ranma's jaw immediately dropped open; there was no warning just the abrupt question. "What?! Um, I, but, Pop and, um Akane and..." He trailed off realising he was making absolutely no sense as his mother watched, not a bit amused. He hopelessly looked across at Kasumi who carried on avoiding his gaze, looking at the floor guiltily instead. "I thought Pop told you all about it?" Nodoka looked at him and then back towards the house, he was just glad that the look she did it with wasn't directed at him.

"Oh no, my dear husband neglected to mention that particular detail." Ranma gulped as her hand twitched next to its position by the katana. Her hand stopped and she looked back around at her son; her gaze softened and she kneeled on the floor in front of him, he did the same and after a bit of hesitation so did Kasumi. "Son, Kasumi told me what happened that night. All this time I believed that you had chosen Akane as your fiancée, so I let the occasional fight or bat tempered words go." She looked solemnly towards the ground.

"Now I see that I have been inattentive in my duties as your mother." She looked up with fierceness in her gaze that actually frightened Ranma a little. "I promise you son that I will do everything in my power to make you happy and fix this mess that I helped you get into." Ranma looked back at his mother in shock and surprise, the conviction in her voice was enough to tell him that she was deadly serious. She stood up and left him there, after a furtive glance between the two Kasumi did the same.

Ranma was just left to watch the two disappear back into the house with an increasingly sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He stood up shakily, wondering if all of that was just some exhaustion fuelled hallucination. He wiped his eyes and looked around him but everything seemed real enough. With a slightly shaking body he returned to his katas, yet his mind was far from martial arts.

* * *

Dinner was a nerve-wracking affair for everybody, nobody spoke a word and more than a few suspicious glances were thrown around. Nodoka had announced there would be a family meeting in the dojo after dinner and only she knew what it was about, even if Ranma had a small idea. Kasumi seemed to be the most affected, barely touching her food and not looking at anybody as they all ate in silence. Finally everybody was finished and they all shuffled into the dojo in silence, sitting around in a small circle as Nodoka prepared to speak.

"It has recently come to my attention that, for the past two years, my son has been forced into an engagement with a girl he had no choice in selecting." Everybody looked at the woman in shock. "While I have supported my husband in his creation of the agreement between the two schools, that does not mean that I will subject Ranma to a life of unhappiness in a forced marriage." Everybody's looks of shock only increased, even Nabiki looked perturbed. Nodoka changed from her calm but aggressive demeanour to smile at Ranma.

"I have decided that I will give Ranma another chance, a re-do, of that night when he was unfairly pushing into an engagement he obviously did not want at the time." Genma looked about ready to explode but one movement from Nodoka towards the katana on her back froze him in place in an instant. She once again turned to Ranma, a warm motherly smile on her face, and nodded at him expectantly. "Well Ranma, right now it is your right to choose your fiancee. No one here is allowed to choose for you. Do you still choose Akane?"

Ranma's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as he stared uncomprehending around the room. _'This is what my mother meant by helping?'_ He glanced at the various faces and reactions of the room. Genma was sitting quietly to one side, obviously furious but his eyes never left the blade that glinted in the late afternoon sunlight. Soun was so confused and shocked his mind hadn't even processed the situation enough to begin crying. Nabiki had lost her curious look and returned to her emotionless mask, even so she was glancing every so often at Ranma. Kasumi wasn't meeting his gaze again, she still held that guilty look. Akane was just as furious as Genma yet she wouldn't disrespect her elder by speaking out of turn, she just stared daggers at Ranma, as if all of this were his fault or idea.

The pressure seemed to be mounting on Ranma as one by one the rooms occupants turned to look at him, either with curiosity or suspicion. He felt himself start to sweat as he realised he still hadn't uttered a sound. His mouth opened to the tiniest degree but nothing came out but a hoarse croak, everyone continued to stare at him, boring holes into his skull with their glares. It all became too much for Ranma, the expectations, the anxiety, the pressure; He shot to his feet and bolted out of the dojo at blinding speed.

It took everybody else a few seconds to realise that Ranma had run away and everybody had different reactions. Figuring that all of this was over and they were safe from now the two fathers got up to leave but cough from Nodoka was enough to bring them back down. Akane also got to her feet and in a moment of hope Nodoka believed that she was going to run after Ranma, but she instead turned in the opposite direction and began marching off. Kasumi did in fact get up and run in the direction Ranma had taken off, sure of where she would find him. Having seen all she needed to see, Nodoka told Akane to sit back down and the younger girl did so, still obviously angry at the whole affair.

"I believe I have in fact confirmed my suspicions. Your actions now say loud and clear you are not concerned about keeping the engagement to my son. As of right now I am shifting the engagement obligations to Kasumi Tendo." Everybody looked at her in a mixture of shock, disbelief and more than a bit of anger. His anger finally overcoming his fear of the blade Genma finally spoke out.

"Nodoka what are you doing? You'll jeopardise the entire engagement!" Nodoka rounded on her husband with cold eyes and an even voice.

"Be quiet husband, as the clan leader it is _my_ right to change any arrangements made that affect our house. Remember that it was _you_ who gave up the tile of clan leader so that you could go on that training trip that separated my son from me for so long. Don't assume you can take back what you relinquish." His argument dead on his lips Genma sat back down, once again fearful of that length of steel that haunted his dreams on occasion.

"I really must protest Nodoka!" The older woman was actually pleasantly surprised that Soun had managed to hold together so well for so long. She had long ago respected the man, when his wife was still alive and he could still be called a man.

"Oh really Soun, and what exactly are your objections to the change of engagement?" He looked at her oddly, floundered by the abrupt question, nothing really coming to mind that he would want to admit. "There is only a three year age difference between the two of them. As I understand it, you and Kimiko were of a similar gap were you not?" She knew it was cruel to bring his wife into all of this but she felt it was the only way to really get the man to listen. "I have felt a bond growing between those two that only seems to have strengthened in their time away together so I strongly support the engagement. I have not felt a similar bond between Ranma and Akane and after two years that should not be the case if they were compatible." Soun still seemed to want to protest and Nodoka sighed internally.

"This couldn't be about the fact that it is _Kasumi_ would it Soun? After all you are always so eager for the marriage when it was Akane who was my Ranma's fiancée. Is there something about Kasumi that makes her off limits?" Any objections Soun had after that went unspoken, he couldn't possibly defend his case anymore and sound reasonable. Nodoka finally turned to the two girls that were still here. "And you girls? Have you any objection to this change?"

Nabiki smirked, a brow raised as she curtly shook her head. _'As long as it isn't me'_.

Akane was too shocked to even speak; suddenly her whole world was turned upside down in an instant. _'I'm not engaged to Ranma anymore?'_ That was what she wanted, wasn't it? After all this time hadn't she said that she didn't want to be engaged to Ranma? That it wasn't her choice? Yet here she was, finally allowed to leave him and she couldn't even move a muscle to object or speak. She felt as though she was looking down on her body from a third person perspective as she saw herself slowly and jerkily shake her head, the look of disbelief still apparent on her features.

Nodoka smiled, a smile that held no warmth in it whatsoever, and nodded curtly. As there were no objections then she called the whole situation closed. She stood up and walked out with Nabiki not too far behind her, the fathers and Akane were frozen in place, unable to move for the moment. Nodoka looked back sadly at the blue-haired girl, she had so hoped it could work out between her and her son, yet she had even shaken her head when she had the chance to defend her claim. Perhaps she really had been blinded to what was really going on. However there was something else she had to put right with her son before she could rest easy.

* * *

Kasumi found Ranma exactly where she thought she would, it took her a while to get through the house and up onto the roof but sure enough Ranma was there with his legs pulled in close to his body. He was seated at the very tip of the roof with his face burying in his knees, not moving or doing anything. Kasumi very carefully walked up the slope of the roof, making sure not to fall this time, and slowly sat down next to the near-catatonic boy.

He didn't react to her presence so she just at down next to him for a while, looking up at the sky and the clouds slowly drifting by. Eventually Ranma started to unravel from his tight position and he looked across at Kasumi, his eyes watery but he hadn't cried yet. He looked like he wanted to speak and Kasumi patiently waited for him to do so; when instead he hung his head down and stayed quiet Kasumi started.

"Ranma, why did you run away?" It was a simple enough question and she hoped it would at least get a response, something to get Ranma out of this state. He raised his head again, watching a single cloud lazily wind its way through the afternoon sky. It had a pink hue cast by the slowly setting sun and he wondered for just a moment how amazing it must be to be a cloud, with no responsibilities and cares, just floating through the sky on eddies and currents of wind.

"It was too much." Kasumi was glad he had finally talked; the silence was becoming thick and unnerving. She wasn't used to Ranma being the one not willing to speak, he was always so full of life, read to jump in and do anything. "And I was scared." That shocked Kasumi to the very core, something she had thought she would never hear Ranma admitting was that he was scared; of cats maybe but he could always blame his father. Scared for something that was entirely his own, she wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't heard it.

"To think I had to make a decision, one that would change my life permanently and I had no idea what the consequences were. I was more scared than I had ever been. It's not like a fight where if you make a mistake or a bad move you at least know what was going to happen. Here I had nothing, nothing to go on except a few feelings and everybody's expectant gaze, wanting me to give an answer." The way he put it made Kasumi realise just how nerve-wracking it really must have been.

"And the worst part was..." Kasumi looked across at him, surprised that it could get worse, but he was still looking away from her, following that same cloud with his eyes. "I finally had a choice. After two years, somebody had finally given me a choice, something that I had a say in, and I wasn't being forced or coerced." His head dropped back down and the look in his eyes was dark and self-loathing "And I ruined it." Kasumi could practically feel the pain radiating off of the body with his revelation.

"I proved to everybody that I wasn't fit to make a choice, that I was a scared child who couldn't make up my mind, that I had to have something decided for me." Kasumi wanted to shake him, tell him that it wasn't true but she was rooted to the spot by the emotion in his voice. Ranma finally looked at her, straight into her eyes with his own crystal blue ones. The tears were gone, all that was left was a slightly dead glazed over look.

"Even worse was that I couldn't make the choice because I was just afraid..." He never broke his unblinking gaze with Kasumi. "...Afraid of what my answer would be." he dropped the gaze, looking up at the sky again as he searched desperately for that cloud again, but it was changed by the wind into an unrecognisable mass that he couldn't find. His voice now a whisper he returned his gaze to the tiles beneath him. "Because I wanted to choose you."

A deathly silence hung between them for even they didn't know how long; probably seconds, maybe minutes. Kasumi stared at the teen and he in turned stared back, both of their faces mirroring the other's blank look. Slowly, so slowly that if somebody was watching they would have noticed until it happened, Kasumi leant across the seemingly infinite gap that separated them and planted a single kiss on Ranma's cheek. His face didn't change but Ranma's eyes opened wider as his entire mental faculties fizzled to a halt.

"Ranma, don't think that you're the only one whose had their feelings change." She looked at his blank face and worried for a moment but when she saw his eye twitch and he nearly fell over backwards her mouth curled into the faintest hint of a smile. "A lot of my feelings have been changed over the last few weeks, before then I could never have thought of you..." A blush crept across her face "In the way I do now." She looked at him, having regained some composure, sadness now in her eyes. "But it can't be that way, can it?" He slowly shook his head, sadness in his features as well.

"I can't just give up on Akane like that, it's dishonourable. I was put in a situation two years ago and had plenty of opportunities to do something about it." His head drooped a little further "If I had known then what I know now..." He raised his head back up when he felt Kasumi's hand on his shoulder.

"Never look to the past Ranma, all you'll find is pain." Her eyes spoke of understanding and he knew that she must have dwelled on her mother's death for quite some time. She stood up, more certain in her movements than he thought he could be right now. "You are the most honourable person I know Ranma and I have come to care for you deeply." She wanted to look away, anywhere but his eyes, but she stayed strong. "And I hope Akane realises that."

He too stood up, strengthened in his own way by the words as he looked her in the eyes, never wanting to look away, for when he did life would start moving again. He walked towards her in small, uncertain steps until he was right in front of her. His head leaned in and she did the same and their lips met in the middle while they both felt spreading warmth through their bodies.

It didn't last long and soon he was pulling away, she did the same, and he watched her leave, moving back down the roof and into her window. He slumped back down to the roof, the feel of that sensation burned onto his lips. There was the beginnings of a smile on his face as he looked towards the horizon; it lit up with a panorama of warm colours just as the sun dipped below the distant mountains and the clouds were bathed in orange and pinks.


	11. Revelation

Ranma couldn't help but wake early the next morning, his dreams had just been too fitful. They were filled with images that he liked but didn't want to see and sounds that made him happy but immeasurably depressed. Of course most of this ebbed away as the light streamed in through the window, purging his mind of the dreams. All he was left with was the feeling that he didn't want to go back to sleep and face it all again. Instead he found himself determined to make sure everything was alright with Kasumi, to assure her that everything could still be the same between them.

He crept through the house, admiring how everything looked ever so slightly different bathed in the twilight light of the early morning. He was able to think for a while and surprisingly found his thoughts turn to the more mundane for once. Today he would be going back to school; the vacation had been perfectly booked so that they would come back just before school started again. He didn't mind all that much, it could sometimes be a bore but he honestly found that he learnt the occasional interesting thing.

He would never say it out loud but he was also glad for school because it was a chance to see Ukyo without Akane having any real reason to be jealous. He had come to miss his long-time friend recently now that he had been avoiding her more than usual. An errant thought popped into his head that he had promised himself to check up on Ukyo at some point but never actually did. He smiled and decided that he might as well today, Akane would still be highly strung from everything that happened yesterday and he hoped to avoid the worst of it.

His thoughts turned sour when he began remembering the night. He couldn't believe his mother would do something like that without at least asking him about it first. He sighed lightly, it just wasn't fair for Akane or Kasumi; Ranma knew that it didn't really affect Nabiki, the girl was too strong willed and they both knew Ranma wouldn't have chosen her. He had nothing against Nabiki personally and he knew that the time she had been his fiancée briefly she had Akane's interests at heart but he just couldn't see a future with her.

His thoughts once again took a turn for the better as he remembered the latter aspect of the evening. His hand subconsciously moved to the phantom feeling of Kasumi's lips on his own, it was a sensation he wasn't going to forget any time soon. He sighed again and wondered why it couldn't be that simple with Akane. Why couldn't a simple hug or a kiss put everything right between them? He of course knew the answer but didn't want to really admit it to himself.

He remembered Yuhi's passing words on Akane. _'Probably due to paranoia and self-esteem issues'. _With a wince he remembered all of the names and insults he had thrown at her over the years. 'Tomboy' 'uncute' 'flat-chested', he realised that they were all about her appearance and tiredly shook his head. Akane obviously had issues before his arrival but Ranma could never take the partial blame off of himself for making them worse. At the time he just couldn't have risked nice words, what with the father's so trigger-happy on the wedding bells.

He knew that was no excuse. At one point he really had loved Akane, more than anything in the world and he had admitted it to himself at Jusendo. If he truly had been happy then what difference did being married to her really make? He dreaded the answer because it was far simpler than anything he had tried to bluff or fumble over in the past. If anything it would have solved more than a few problems in his life, the fiancée issue for one, as well as the worst of his father's nagging.

Again, his mind flipped to the alternative, the fact that neither he nor Akane were ready for marriage, at any time in the last two years. It wasn't that they were too young, that was a tired excuse that had lost all its meaning over the years. He just knew that both of them had various issues that needed dealt with before either of them could have committed to a long term relationship. Akane had her anger and intimacy issues and Ranma wasn't Mr Perfect when it came to dealing with emotion.

Maybe if the father's had backed off and let the relationship run smoothly. Maybe if Ranma had thought more clearly before engaging in a fight when he knew nothing of the village's customs. Maybe if he had realised his childhood friend had been a girl. Maybe if he had waited one more day in that lot behind Ryoga's house. Maybe if his own father hadn't been such a lazy, greedy, selfish ass. Maybe if Ranma wasn't the focal point for all the chaos in Tokyo.

He sighed as Kasumi's words drifted through his mind. _'Never look to the past Ranma, all you find is pain'_. The brighter light now streaming in through the windows alerted him to the fact it was almost the time that Kasumi would be getting up. He stood up, feeling less tired now that he had a chance to think about things. He wasn't any closer to a resolution, on anything, but he at least believed it was a start. Ranma knew better than most that even a single step is an important one on a long journey.

He prepared the kitchen, marvelling at how clean it already was. When he and Kasumi had arrived back she had immediately noticed the slight layer of dirt in the kitchen and had gone about setting things straight. It seemed that at least Ranma had been right and the remaining residents were able to care for themselves in Kasumi's absence, although he wondered how they might have fared if Nodoka hadn't been around to pick up the slack.

He started preparing the breakfast and soon enough everything he had learnt from Kasumi came rushing back, even after three days without practice. Arms moved without him really needing to tell them what to do and quickly he was in the thick of it, the same state he was in when Kasumi finally rounded the doorframe into the kitchen. She paused momentarily at the sight of him and his heart shuddered but she pushed past it, smiling serenely at him before beginning her own morning routine of cleaning and preparation for the rest of the day.

This continued in awkward silence that neither participant was quite ready to relieve, even as they both finished up and Ranma set the table. It was his first day back and he couldn't help but notice and remember the different conditions of each resident as they drearily shuffled to the table. He especially smiled at Nabiki's completely unaware state that could only be solved by her traditional cup of coffee. He was also pleasantly surprised to find that his mother had stayed over tonight; he had heard something about the re-construction being delayed due to a large fight breaking out in the neighbourhood.

He waited on the last member of the house to finally trickle in and after a few more moments with the smell of food slowly saturating the air Akane entered. He expected anger, frustration, annoyance, and at least a few glares but instead the girl that walked in the room was hardly the Akane Tendo he knew. Instead of the fiery girl that he had come to call friend over the last year, an inward, meek, sad-looking girl shuffled into the room before sitting down at her spot without a word. He wanted to ask what was going on but he started to notice subtle differences in the others as well.

Genma wasn't making his usual effort to steal Ranma's food, making a half-assed attempt at even the easiest of targets. Soun had abandoned his morning newspaper, instead glancing sullenly between his eldest and youngest daughters. Once Nabiki was free of her early morning fogginess Ranma could see she lacked the normal smirk she wore in the morning as she waited for something to occur that she could take advantage of.

All in all the entire mood of the table was sombre and down-cast, with nobody able to bring themselves to speak. Ranma also saw that Kasumi obviously shared his confusion at the turn of events. She knew her family better than anyone so there were even more subtle hints that told her something was severely off about this morning. Even Nodoka seemed affected, a surprisingly grim and determined look set upon her normally warm features. However far from the depressed mood shared by the others the older woman had a glint in her eye that told of victory, a look Ranma knew from his own eyes all too often.

Ranma began to fidget, moods at the table were hardly uncommon and he was usually the one to set them off. It was just the fact that he had no idea what was or could be causing such a massive change in the behaviour of the house. The only noticeable change he could think of was the events of last night, however he had made no decision so surely at least the fathers should be elated. Finally it was Nodoka who broke the quiet that had befallen the breakfast table.

"This food is really quite excellent Kasumi, a little different to your usual style but still very good." Despite the oppressive mood at the table Ranma couldn't help a smile forming on the edges of his mouth. Nodoka was still ignorant of his new hobby and it just made him smirk to think about. He smirk vanished when he started realising the consequences of his mother knowing about his outlet; his decidedly _unmanly _outlet. He was about to shoot a warning look at Kasumi but it was too late and the older girl was already speaking.

"Actually Auntie Nodoka, Ranma was the one to cook breakfast this morning." Both Genma and Ranma involuntarily flinched and looked warily at Nodoka who only seemed to mull this fact over with a muted interest.

"Well Ranma, it's very kind of you to help out your fiancée in this way."

Ranma stared at her a moment, completely incredulous to the logic his mother had managed to use to come to that conclusion. "What are ya talking about mom? I didn't do this for Akane." He flinched again, realising he had once again acted without first thinking through his words. He looked at Akane but surprisingly he wasn't met with a scathing look or equally scathing remark, instead the girl continued looking at her food, picking at it without any real interest in the same way she had since sitting down.

Nodoka looked at him only slightly bemused. "And what are you talking about son? I was referring to your fiancée, not Akane." It was the younger girl's turn to flinch but it went unnoticed by everybody as Ranma and even Kasumi looked curiously and highly suspiciously at his mother.

"Mom, Akane is my fiancée. Who else would I be talking about?" It was said slowly and deliberately as Ranma tried to listen out for whatever it was in his words that seemed to be making his mother come to the wrong conclusion.

"Why Kasumi of course." It was said nonchalantly as if the woman had merely been stating an obvious fact that anybody should know. Even so, two sets of chopsticks fell with an audible clatter to the table as both Kasumi and Ranma lost interest in everything but the woman before them. The two of them were just too shocked to even attempt speaking, even a simple 'what?' was beyond them. Nodoka's nonchalant demeanour dropped and the warmer, more motherly attitude returned.

"Last night I changed the arrangement between the Saotome and Tendo clan by moving the fiancée responsibilities over to Kasumi." She moved her gaze from her son to her new future daughter-in-law. "Who I hoped would prove to be a better match with Ranma." A third set of chopsticks clattered t the table and all eyes turned to Akane. The girl stood, a little shakily, and Ranma believed she would finally become the person he knew her to be with some kind of violent outburst. Instead she merely walked away from the table, her food barely eaten, grabbed her bag and left the house without a word. Nodoka watched, once again trying to gauge the seemingly unreadable girl.

"Well Ranma, enough of this, I believe you have school to attend." His mouth opened as if he was going to say something and Nodoka raised a single eyebrow. Nothing came out of his mouth; his mind still hadn't quite caught up enough yet. His body just worked on autopilot instead, standing him up and walking him towards the door. His face still managed to show the incredulity, shock and confusion his entire being was permeated with. "Oh Ranma?" Nodoka called before he left, and he turned to face her again. "I know you're probably confused, so let me give you a little advice. The future may be confusing and at times frightening, but you shouldn't make yourself cling to the past just because it's familiar."

Ranma of course had no idea what to say in response. "Umm... thanks?"

His mother nodded. "Just think it over a little. You'll understand what I mean if you give it some thought."

Kasumi watched him leave, as did Nodoka and both women remained quiet until Ranma left. Everybody else had finished their breakfast as the small exchange took place and hurriedly left. Kasumi was left alone with her future mother-in-law and turned to face her.

"Kasumi dear, I believe it's time we talked." Her voice was now one of complete understanding and compassion and Kasumi could do nothing but resign and nod her head.

* * *

One would have been hard-pressed not to notice the change in the pigtailed martial artist that day. In class everybody was used to him not paying attention or even sleeping, at least until recently. However today Ranma didn't just seem disinterested, which he guessed he probably would have been, but distracted as well. Ukyo could barely keep her eyes off of her Ranchan all morning, always giving him furtive glances or longer analysing looks when the teachers' attention were elsewhere.

Ranma barely noticed the extra attention; his mind was on other things, or more specifically one thing. The same thought glued it all together in his mind '_Kasumi is my fiancée?' _usually followed by _'I'm not engaged to Akane?' _before repeating in an endless loop. The cycle would only occasionally break when he looked across at said ex-fiancée. Once again he expected evil looks or venomous words but she continued to surprise him by sadly staring at the wood of her desk as if she could turn it back into the tree it once was.

She worried him, her depression, or at least what seemed like a depression as Ranma wasn't the best judge of such things, seemed able to match one of Ryoga's. Ranma knew from that case study how vicious a cycle such a depression could be, the training of the Shishi Hokoudan was case and point. Yet on another level he too felt that sadness, and not just it radiating off of the girl. He realised that it was because of him, her sadness was his fault and that thought managed to mesh in horribly with the current vortex of muddled thoughts already crammed in his mind.

Ukyo tried to talk to Ranma between classes, mainly just to see what was wrong, firstly with him and then with Akane. He wasn't the only one noticing the change in the normally spunky blue-haired girl. Usually the two's problems were so intertwined that one's was the other's in most cases. In this case it seemed big, monumentally so and Ukyo just wanted to know so she could find a way to help her Ranchan. However she could never catch up to the distracted teen as he would flit straight from one class to the other where he would sit down, unmoving and almost unblinking, until the next lesson began.

She stopped trying after the second lesson; she knew she could always get him at lunch. If Ukyo knew one thing to always be constant in her life it was Ranma's infamous stomach. Food had always been the quickest way past the boy's carefully maintained defences and while Shampoo held that same advantage she knew that the added bonus of their friendship was enough to tip the scales her way. She shook her head, briefly sickened by her own thoughts; her best friend, the boy she loved, was obviously in some kind of trouble and all she could think about was the silly fiancée competition.

Unfortunately the brunette okonomiyaki chef found she couldn't help but feel her thoughts slip onto such things. Even though Akane was her friend the young woman was already thinking of ways she could somehow put herself at an advantage with the girl's newfound depression. The main though of course was that if Akane was this uncaring towards Ranma right now then Ukyo had a chance for some alone time, something she was desperately lacking in her interactions with Ranma.

She would also have to act fast; it was an unfortunate fact that Shampoo had the most uncanny sense of timing for such matters. Just as one girl found herself in an advantageous position the lavender-haired Amazon would come along and find some way to reset the scales, intentionally or not. Ukyo finally rid herself of the less than honourable thoughts as her gaze once again drifted onto the pigtailed teen her life had practically revolved around in the last two years.

Ranma left the classroom in the same semi-blind state; it was only out of routine and his growling stomach that he managed to walk his usual route out the window to drop to the ground floor. It was a much less graceful manoeuvre than usual and a few people looked him over oddly at his less-than-prideful display. It was only after his feet touched the ground did he realise that he in fact had no lunch, having failed to grab one this morning. He looked around wearily, usually by now Shampoo or Ukyo would have shown up by now, offering him some of their food.

Instead he was slightly more surprised to find Kasumi waiting not too far from his landing zone from the third story window. She didn't look all that happy that he had jumped from such a height and he might have realised it was out of concern as opposed to judgement if he wasn't so rattled today. To be honest he wasn't even sure if he wanted to see her right now, there were just too many conflicting emotions and thoughts to deal with it.

She did come over though and Ranma wasn't the type to be impolite. Even through his foggy vision he noticed that Kasumi's neutral, ever-present smile was gone today, instead she wore a much more serious look that Ranma thought just felt wrong to look at. The look just didn't suit the gentle girl's features and Ranma felt the normal urge to do something to make her feel anything other than what was causing this negative emotion.

"Hello Ranma." Her voice was rather quiet and subdued, also making Ranma uncomfortable at the sheer alien quality in Kasumi's throat. "I would like to talk if that's okay." He weakly nodded and the two of them walked away from the busy schoolyard to a more secluded section of the grounds. Normally Ranma would have been highly inquisitive about such an appearance at the school however today was a day of exceptions and he knew there could only be one reason Kasumi would want to talk with him.

* * *

Shampoo had awoken with a strangely ominous feeling that day, it was almost confirmed when the tea cup she was holding at breakfast cracked in two. Cologne also noticed and decided today would be a good day for her Great-Granddaughter to give her Airen a visit. Cologne was just as wary, if not more so, of the omen than her kin; too many years of life had taught her not to ignore such things. Something important was happening and in Nerima that meant something was happening with Ranma; her Great-Granddaughter wasn't going to be left out of it.

Shampoo took off in her usual way, making deliveries of Ramen and the other food the Nekohanten ordered out. The small Chinese restaurant they had opened had originally just been a thing to do while they were there getting Ranma back. They had never expected the place to become so popular; Shampoo herself wasn't particularly happy with the change. She enjoyed working at the restaurant itself as it was a good test of her flexibility and the many male customers staring at her gave her an ego boost. However with the increase in popularity there came an increase in demand and recently Cologne had been running her ragged with deliveries.

Shampoo had originally questioned the logic in this as it only detracted time that she could spend pursuing Ranma. The elder Amazon only countered that Ranma was unavailable during the day anyway with school so they may as well use the time productively to earn some money. Shampoo also wondered why they didn't get Mousse to do the deliveries but had been quickly reminded that a good delivery person needed to be able to see the person they were delivering to. She cursed the myopic boy and his vanity; she actually thought if he just bit the bullet and wore his glasses then he would be a much more competent adversary.

While the line of enquiry had been less than fruitful Cologne couldn't deny that lunch was the perfect time to go for Ranma. It wasn't just the okonomiyaki chef that had found out Ranma's weakness in his stomach, not that it wasn't obvious. So Shampoo decided that she would visit him at school today, she hadn't in the last few days and thought she would make it up to her love. She flew across rooftops on her bike smiling, she felt like today just might be a good day, a day of change.

She crested the roof of the school and landed in the middle of the yard, but not before announcing her presence with a cheerful ring of her bell. Shampoo never understood how her Airen always managed to get under her bike; she would announce her presence and she had seen just how fast he could move so it just made no sense to her. Briefly she thought it may be something that she was doing but quickly dismissed such unproductive thoughts.

She looked around the schoolyard, completely ignoring the multitude of teenage boys that stopped to gawk at her. It was strange she couldn't find Ranma; usually she would have the luck of landing right on the pigtailed teen, quite literally. As it was it wasn't her only option, she saw her rival Ukyo walking off in a direction with some pace and that only meant she would find Ranma in that direction.

Deciding on a change of tack for once she opted for a bit more stealth she abandoned the bike with a small clatter that went unheard by the brunette chef and silently followed her. Ukyo also appeared to be employing some kind of stealth which struck Shampoo as odd, it wasn't the clumsier girl's style, preferring open displays like Shampoo than more subtle approaches. Shampoo followed with some intrigue before she saw Ukyo quietly enter a group of bushes. Following the girl's now hidden gaze Shampoo saw Ranma talking alone with Kasumi. It was another thing that both struck her as strange and worried her at the same time, especially after the talk she had with the eldest Tendo.

Shampoo also concealed her presence in the same group of bushes but with more skill that the less experienced chef. Even the other occupant didn't notice her as she was far too intently watching the conversation. Happily hidden from sight and sound the lavender-haired girl turned her attention to the proceedings that had so enraptured her rival.

* * *

"Ranma, I need to talk to you about this whole engagement situation." Ranma, having finally come out of his semi-daze nodded intently, he too thought that would be for the best. "I wanted you to know that I had no idea about any of this before breakfast this morning. Auntie Nodoka told me that she changed the agreement in our absence, but apparently failed to inform us, the ones most deserving of such knowledge." Once again Ranma nodded, more slowly this time, it made sense for him; his mother must have done it when the two of them were talking of the roof. He noticed a slight tone of bitterness in Kasumi's words near the end and couldn't fault her, they did deserve to know if this happened behind their backs.

"Kasumi, did you mean what you said on the roof? About your feelings having changed?" He asked, addressing the biggest concern he had at the moment.

She smiled faintly as she remembered the exchange on the roof and more specifically how it ended. "Every word Ranma." She took one of his hands and squeezed it gently. "Before a few weeks ago I couldn't have even imagined any of this being possible but I feel like I've gotten to see a side of you that has opened my eyes." He looked at her with curiosity. "In all honesty Ranma before then I believed you to be a kind hearted but ultimately foolish and irresponsible boy." Again he regarded her with intrigue and more than a bit of pain but she quickly continued.

"But since then I was allowed to see your compassionate side, I was able to come to understand just what your life entails. I was able to see how perfectly you had managed to balance your life around obligation, honour, and friendship. Most of all I was able to see just how much you were able to care about the people around you". Her smile grew larger momentarily. "You changed the way I will forever see younger men." Ranma blushed furiously.

"I see you differently as well Kasumi. I always knew you were caring and kind, gentle and peaceful, but it was only after I saw your pain, the slow and quiet suffering you go through as you suppress your own life for your family, that I really started to see you in a different light." Kasumi looked down, unsure of what to make of Ranma's insight of her life. She knew it was at least partially true, her own life really had ended the day she had taken her role as the surrogate matriarch of the family.

"Ranma, it's important to me that you know that I will take this engagement seriously. However I will not push you into it. I would only feel right if we both wanted the same thing." Ranma reached across and took the hand Kasumi had let limply hang at her side until now.

"And I promise not to make the same mistakes as I did with Akane." He looked away but it was only for a second before his eyes held hers in an unbreakable gaze. "I don't love you Kasumi." He felt her hands tense in his own. "But I care for you deeply, I want there to be more and I believe there can be. Maybe one day, but right now there is too much confusion in my life for love." She didn't look away but he felt her relax in his grasp.

"You're right Ranma, I don't love you either. I'm not entirely sure what I feel but like you said I hope there can be more." Their faces were practical mirrors of one another, smiling warmly but with the same hint of forlornness. Kasumi's eyes suddenly perked up. "I also brought you this." She suddenly pulled a packed lunch out of seemingly nowhere and Ranma's eyes lit up even more as he suddenly pulled Kasumi into a brief but tight hug. He had meant it when he said he wouldn't make the same mistakes as he had with Akane, one of them being his own issues with intimacy.

"Thanks Kasumi, once again you're a life saver." She smiled with her eyes closed in a way that made him want to chuckle; it was just the epitome of innocence and kindness contained in a single facial expression.

"Don't worry Ranma, it's the least I can do as your fiancée." Saying it finally made her giggle before her eyes took on a sadly more downcast look. Ranma knew she was thinking about Akane so he had to do something to cheer her up.

* * *

'_Fiancée?' _The word rung in both of the listening girls' minds. Ukyo had watched on in increasing confusion and apprehension at the conversation. She began to get worried when Ranma had started acting strangely but that one word, spoken by Kasumi herself, was the clincher. She nearly fell to the ground in despair, almost giving away her position in the bushes in the process. She couldn't believe it, Kasumi was Ranma's fiancée and somehow the engagement had been moved from Akane.

This was terrible, how was Ukyo possibly supposed to compete with such a woman? To her Kasumi was perfect; kind, polite, caring, warm, peaceful and not to mention absolutely gorgeous. Ranma may not have remembered the specifics but Ukyo could remember the miss beachside pageant vividly, specifically the memories of just how amazing Kasumi looked in a bikini. With Akane she at least felt she held the advantage in most ways including looks, friendship, and her cooking ability. All of those advantages just vanished before her eyes.

Shampoo was equally shocked, with her less than masterful grasp of Japanese it had taken her longer to figure out what was happening but like Ukyo that one word sealed it for her. Unlike Ukyo the strong Amazon did slump to the ground, slightly less caring about being found than her unaware accomplice. She could help but think about all the few times she had met Kasumi, even then it was enough to paint a picture. She called her 'too too nice girl' for a reason.

Akane was different, in Shampoo's mind the homely blue-haired girl could only hope to compare to Shampoo. The Amazon was stronger, faster, more beautiful, a better cook, and she even had a curse, who else could possibly understand Ranma more than her? Akane also knew martial arts, or so she so often claimed, but Kasumi did not. While she was now an obstacle between Shampoo and Ranma the lavender-haired teen couldn't bring herself to physically harm the young woman. Ukyo had noticed Shampoo's unintentional admittance of her position and turned quite shocked to see the comely Amazon so close to her without her even realising.

"Shampoo what are you doing here?" She whispered only loud enough for Shampoo to hear as Ranma and Kasumi were still talking outside.

"Same as Spatula girl, wanting to see why Airen talk with too too nice girl" Ukyo hung her head and looked back around to where they were still talking.

"This is bad, isn't it?" Shampoo surprised her by quite firmly nodding her head, slight sadness in her eyes as she too watched her love so openly express his feelings with another woman.

"Is very bad, too too... _Kasumi _not like violent girl she-" She trailed off as both girls listened intently to an interesting part of the conversation. The both gasped involuntarily at what they heard; Ranma was actually making plans with Kasumi to go on a date. "Is too too bad, Ranma never agree to date before." She briefly appraised the chef before her. "Shampoo think it good idea for truce between Spatu... Ukyo and Shampoo."

Actually quite impressed by Shampoo using her name the brunette nodded grimly. Neither one of them could compare to Kasumi so they would have to work together until the status quo was returned to normal. The first thing they needed to do was to find out where they were going on their date; from there it became more difficult.


	12. It's the waiting

Ranma awoke slowly that next morning, not because he was tired but because his head was so busy with his own inner monologue he could only allocate the bare minimum focus to actual movement. Of course the main thought of the day was about his upcoming date with Kasumi. The closest thing that Ranma had to dating experience was his one with Shampoo, which he had run out on, and the 'date' he had proposed with Nabiki when he realised she was messing with him.

Apparently Kasumi had about as much experience as him in that department and at first neither was really sure what to do. Ranma had to draw upon his minute knowledge of television and simply proposed they go out for dinner. It seemed to work in the programs; you would go out, talk, eat, then wander around before going back to the girl's house. It didn't sound too daunting, or at least that was what Ranma kept telling himself over and over just to calm his nerves.

Luckily she had thought it sounded good so they tentatively made plans for Saturday evening. The only downside was that Ranma was pretty much stuck with his own thoughts until then, and it was only Tuesday. He decided to try and get his mind on other things but recently there wasn't a thing on his mind that didn't cause him distress in one way or another. Whether it was Akane's strange behaviour, his mother's apparent betrayal of his trust, the way his father completely ignored him now, or the fact that even though he was back from vacation his other two fiancées had been strangely and ominously quiet.

That in particular was troubling him right now as he walked through the house. Ukyo he guessed might have the knowledge to see something was wrong but he figured that would only cause her to find out what, not wait in the background. Shampoo was a different story; she had none of the same reservations and by now he would expect a bike between the shoulder blades. He was almost tempted to go down to the Nekohanten to see what was up but was wary to do so in case that was their new plan all along; he could never be certain with Cologne.

Even so he did decide to go and visit Ukyo after school today and see what was up with her; in any case he had made that same promise yesterday before his world got flipped. That also made him uneasy; while he knew Kasumi was caring and understanding he didn't know what her stance on jealousy was. He would always give her the benefit of the doubt but had never _had _to know before and she was still Akane's sister. Anyway he was only going to see Ukyo as a friend to see what was up so he had nothing to worry about, or so his mind continued to reassure him.

Akane was also on his mind, it was tearing him up inside seeing her how she was and especially knowing it was his fault in a large way. If he didn't know her that well he might have just thought she was a quiet and reserved girl, but he did and it was just so out of character for her it shocked him every time he saw her. He had tried to talk to her but she had rushed straight home from school, into her room, and slammed the door. He had tried striking up conversation at dinner, hoping to rile her up just to snap her out of it but he couldn't get a response. Not even when he asked 'Who are you and what have you done with the real Akane?'

The two fathers kept shooting him disappointed looks which surprisingly hurt even though he wouldn't normally give their opinions the time of day. Even more aggravating was the seemingly smug look his mother had gained and the supposedly happy looks she would give him and Kasumi. He still almost couldn't believe what he had done. First she finally found out that he had been forced into an engagement without any say and promised to do something about it; only to put him into another engagement without his say.

For a while he had grappled with what possibly could have possessed her to think that was good logic. In his eyes she repeated the very mistake she sought out to correct. He also realised that he should never have gotten his hopes up, his mother was still the same person, blissfully ignorant of his feelings and only exuding a facade of care. His thoughts had only grown darker after that and he wasn't proud of a lot of the things that had passed through his mind after that. Sufficed to say that his father had received the same treatment externally as he was giving his mother internally.

The day progressed languidly after that and Ranma actually felt that he had never said so little over such a time period in his life. There was even a time when his father had left him in the care of a Buddhist monk sect who had taken a vow of silence; even then he had managed to get better conversation out of them than he did that day. It was in fact where he had learnt his near-mastery of reading body language, for all the help that did him with Akane.

It did him no good to know that she was upset, not that you had to be an expert in body language to figure that out, if he couldn't talk to her to try and help her. He knew he would probably only make it worse if his past was anything to go on but at least the knowledge that he had tried would put his conscience at a bit more ease. School was just as much a dead-end as home; she had an air of complete apathy around her, not even talking to her friends. In fact Yuka and Sayuri had come to him just to see what was wrong, when he explained they had walked off with worry prominent in their eyes.

Ukyo had been equally distant, not even approaching him at lunch. She had still given him the occasional look in lessons but they were fleeting and full of suspicion and betrayal more than her usual dreamy look. It only deepened his resolve to find out just what was wrong with her and straight after school he walked to her restaurant. He actually only walked in a few moments after she had so she was just starting to talk to Konatsu when he moved through the doorframe.

"Ranchan? What are you doing here?" He looked at her oddly, he had never been met like that before. Usually it would be all smiles and welcomes, not this kind of hostile greeting.

"What are you talking about Ucchan? I just wanna get some okonomiyaki and maybe talk a little." Her eyes darkened almost imperceptibly.

"Why? You haven't come here in over a month." Ranma was just confused, maybe he had been ignoring her but it hadn't been that long had it? When he thought about it a little more however he realised that she was about right. It really had been a while since he had actually expressed any interest in seeing her except when she offered him food first. Even so, the hostility he was receiving from Ukyo seemed unreasonable, it was almost like what she had first been like two years ago.

"Ukyo what's wrong?" She just turned away from him and walked behind the grill.

"Listen Ranma I don't have time to talk, I need to work right now." Desperation entered Ranma's eyes, Ukyo wasn't letting him in and there was nothing he could do about it.

"But Ucchan-"

"No Ranma, either order some okonomiyaki or leave." Her words were blunt, leaving no room for argument or compromise. Ranma sat down at the grill and put down some money, the first time he had ever done so in Ukyo's restaurant. Defiance filled his very being.

"Fine then, I'm not leaving here until I find out what's up with you." Her look only matched his defiance as she whipped up his favourite seafood Okonomiyaki in a flash. "What's wrong Ucchan?" His voice became softer, putting in the genuine concern he had for the girl as his much stronger, stubborn mask slipped for the moment. The change caught the chef by surprise and it was only after reminding herself of the deal she made with Shampoo about not revealing anything that she managed to stop herself from blurting it all out.

"Nothing's wrong. Why? Is there anything I should know that I would feel _wronged _about?" She put some venom into the words that she usually reserved for the other fiancées, not for her Ranchan himself. Ranma began to worry and connected the dots; he hung his head limply, still not having actually touched the steaming Japanese pizza before him.

"So you found out about the engagement." His voice became quiet, almost guilty which only spurred Ukyo on.

"Yeah, me and Shampoo found out." Ranma inwardly groaned. _'Shampoo knows as well? How did word get around so quickly?' _briefly he wondered if it was Akane's doing but he couldn't jump to any conclusions like that. "How could you do that Ranma? I thought you didn't even want the engagement with Akane. How could you move it to her sister?" He raised his head slowly, trying to make eye contact with the girl but she wasn't making it easy for him.

"I didn't. My mother moved it." That bit of news briefly surprised Ukyo but remembering how Ranma had hugged Kasumi brought her right back into it.

"Well you don't seem to mind all that much." Ranma's brow furrowed in confusion at the statement and Ukyo realised she might have said too much. If she was around Ranma too long then she was going to say more than she wanted to and ruin everything. One look from Ranma's slate blue eyes nearly made her defences crumble but she steeled herself and stood a little taller.

"Ranma I think you should leave."

"But Ucch-" Ukyo was now finding hard not to look into the pigtailed boy's eyes.

"No Ranma, go." She put his okonomiyaki into a bag and turned to the next customer, silencing any more protests he had. He walked away, feeling even worse for coming, and walked home slowly, with plenty to think about now. He once again thought about going over to Shampoo's to see if she could shed any light on this but the reaction from Ukyo was enough to make him reconsider. Having left, it was only Konatsu and a few of the customers who witnessed the single crystal-like tear roll down the young chef's cheek.

* * *

The week passed in much the same way; Ranma would try to act normally to encourage the same from others but everybody kept this new personality they had developed. Akane, Ukyo, and Shampoo continued to avoid and ignore him, his mother was still proud of what she had done and the fathers became even more reclusive in their games of Shogi. In fact it was only him, Kasumi and Nabiki who had seemed to walk out of this the least changed.

It wasn't all that strange that Ranma naturally found himself spending more and more time around the older girls, even Nabiki. In fact it was on Thursday afternoon he was walking across the landing towards said girl's room. He knocked and entered while she sat on that same swivel chair, expectant as ever. It was highly reminiscent of the conversation they had a week ago about their vacation. He didn't have his guard up in the same way as even the short time he had spent around the older girl was enough to tell him that she would at least hear out what he had to say.

"Hey Nabiki." She looked at him curiously, he was being awfully familiar and she wondered if she was losing her touch. He seemed much calmer around her than he used to be but she also noticed he was slightly distracted which was probably helping.

"What do you need Ranma?" It wasn't cold; in fact anybody that knew what Nabiki was normally like would have probably described it as quite pleasant. Ranma just cut straight to the point.

"I assume you already know I'm going on a date with Kasumi." It wasn't a question, Ranma knew that Nabiki did in fact know; not much went on in this household that she didn't. Her eyebrow rose at the forwardness of the statement however, there was none of the normal jittery shyness that usually gave her so much fun when dealing with Ranma, he seemed positively bold.

"So you're here for money." Ranma smiled slyly, something Nabiki wasn't usually on the receiving end of.

"Sort of, I don't want to take your money, or even ask for it. I'm not a freeloader like my father." Nabiki already knew this, while Ranma occasionally took advantage of a situation he would never purposefully mooch off of others if he didn't deem it necessary. In fact with many of the things Ranma had at his disposal, Nabiki probably would be worse than he was. "I want to ask if there's anything I can do to earn some money." She was happily surprised at the responsibility the boy was taking.

"What about working at the Nekohanten or Ucchan's? Isn't that what you usually do for money?" Ranma averted his gaze for a moment and the older girl could see there was something wrong with what she had said.

"I just can't do that right now."

Nabiki made a mental note to check up on Shampoo and Ukyo to see what was going on with them. "Very well, you know I could always do with better pictures of your girl form."

Ranma blushed furiously. "Why? Kuno left, just who are you selling them to?"

Nabiki's smirk grew. "Oh Ranma, if only you knew the male students of Furinkan like I do. Trust me, you don't really want to know the answer to that question."

Ranma still looked irritated. "Well don't you have anything less... perverted?"

Nabiki thought a moment. "I could also do with better pictures of you as a guy." That quickly brought Ranma to a halt, he had known about the pictures Nabiki took of him as a girl but he had no idea she was doing the same for him as a guy.

"What?" Nabiki's smile grew to Cheshire proportions.

"Oh yeah, they sell great with the girls. I'm surprised you never noticed." Her face took on a strictly business-like feel so Ranma wouldn't take her words the wrong way. "Ranma don't let your ego swell too much but you're a very attractive young man. Why do you think your girl side is so cute?" That gave Ranma a moment to pause, two years living with the curse and the thought hadn't crossed him once. Nabiki was at least pleased that the boy hadn't developed some stupid grin at the thought of being attractive to girls; it was still Ranma after all.

"If you really have a problem with the whole picture thing then I suppose there are a few other uses I could have for you." Ranma warily let her finish, knowing that he probably wouldn't like them if she had led with the pictures. "I have the occasional need for a courier and I know firsthand just how fast you are, also nothing is going to stop you from delivering the packages." Ranma examined her curiously, her posture hadn't changed and her eyes gave nothing away but he could tell there had to be more to it than that.

"Why would you need a courier?" Nabiki also evaluated him for a moment.

"Not that you need to know but sometimes e-mail isn't secure enough and I can't trust the post office to be fast enough." Ranma kept looking at her suspiciously and as if reading his thoughts she smirked and raised her eyebrow again. "What? I'm not in high school anymore, I had to up my game a bit." Under that same critical look she sighed and leaned forward. "It's all strictly legit I assure you, now do we have a deal?"

Ranma didn't react for a few moments, wondering just what he was getting into. However he needed the money and he saw no alternative right now, the idea of just getting a normal job didn't even register with him. He relented and nodded; Nabiki put out her hand and Ranma firmly shook it.

"Nice doing business with you Ranma." She turned back around in her chair and returned to the notebook she was always attached to. "I'll give you a call if I need you." Ranma left the room with the same feeling he always did, that he had somehow signed his soul away. He shrugged the feeling off as his mind just over-exaggerating things but he was left uneasy all the same.

* * *

The days came and went; Ranma now found that his free time that wasn't taken up by at least an hour of training was spent delivering messages and packages. All Nabiki did was give him a location and a picture of the person he was delivering to and he would be off. He didn't actually mind all that much, he set himself small challenges to increase his speed and he found that the faster he delivered the more he got paid. Soon enough he easily had enough for dinner and soon he was just making excess because the job was easy and rather fun.

The only time he had trouble was when a group of thugs blocked his path. He wasn't sure if it was because of what he was delivering or if it was coincidence. Not wanting to lose any money he dealt with all three of the large men in seconds, moving too fast for all but one of them to even see. Soon they were disabled and he moved right along without glancing back, he was going to have to ask Nabiki about all of that later.

Soon, but for some reason not soon enough for Ranma, Saturday came. Despite his nervousness and anxiety he was excited, it was something new for him and he was ready to embrace it. He nervously laughed at the small joke he made before continuing with the cooking. For all the world it would appear to be an average Saturday with Ranma cooking and Kasumi preparing for the day with the rest of the family only now starting to stir.

However Ranma noticed that he wasn't the only one with nerves this morning. Kasumi seemed utterly distracted, not doing her normal impeccable job. After breakfast he went around the house with Kasumi, helping her with her work like they had agreed, it was the only way they would have time for their date later on. Ranma didn't mind all that much, he found that taking the strain off of Kasumi made him feel better and the work wasn't all that strenuous.

It wasn't enough to keep his mind from straying like his martial arts but it had a definite calming effect. The focus did him wonders and having to concentrate on one task was relaxing. The day passed quickly and before Ranma even knew it he was standing in his room, looking at his clothes, wondering what he was going to wear.


	13. Night out

Ranma didn't have a lot of clothes, and most of them were just the same-styled Chinese shirts in different colours with the same black pants. He did have one different shirt though; it was left over from when he had faced off against the golden pair in an ice-skating completion. He smirked thinking about it, it was so long ago now but he had never thrown the shirt away. It was intricately embroidered with a dancing dragon winding its way around his body, over his shoulder and onto his back.

He didn't know why he hadn't worn the shirt after than; he figured it was because there had been no real occasion for finery before this. He just figured his normal attire wouldn't cut it tonight; he did worry about it however as while flattering the shirt wasn't exactly functional. The sleeves were too baggy and if he was caught in a proper fight they would only hamper his arms' movements. He mused a moment on what this shirt would change into were he to be splashed with cold water. He knew that his clothes changed slightly during the change process and he wondered just what this shirt would become.

His musing was brought to an abrupt halt when Kasumi came down the stairs. He gulped, unable to tear his eyes away from her form as she nervously walked down the stairs. She wore a simple yet elegant light blue strapless dress that swept down around her feet. Her hair was tied back as usual but instead of her normal bow she wore a lilac ribbon that trailed behind her, flickering ever so often as the slight wind took it. He kept staring until she was right next to him and he shook his head violently just to clear his head.

"You look very nice Ranma." He nodded dumbly until he realised what she had said.

"Oh, Oh yeah, you look amazing Kasumi!" She blushed and looked away smiling.

"Thank you, that's very kind." He smiled at the kind words.

"No seriously, you're really beautiful Kasumi." Her blush only grew and she giggled into her hand a little nervously. "Well are you ready to go?" She nodded happily and they walked out of the door. Ranma noticed it was a little cold out tonight but when he looked across at Kasumi she didn't seem to mind. Even so he decided now might be a good time to test out a trick he had been working on for a while. He pushed out with his aura and agitated the air around them ever so slightly, warming it up. Kasumi immediately noticed and looked at her date with wonder.

"Ranma, is that you warming the air?" He smiled at her broadly.

"Yeah, it's something I've been working on, I haven't quite got complete control of it yet but it basically works how I want it too." She looked nervous for a moment.

"It's not dangerous is it?" He smiled comfortingly.

"Don't worry Kasumi; I would never let myself hurt you, consciously or subconsciously." He took her hand to stress the point and she looked at it for a moment, he did too when he actually realised he did it. He started to pull away from her but she squeezed his hand gently.

"It's alright Ranma, It's quite nice." Once he stopped acting agitated he couldn't help but agree with her, the hand felt warm and comforting in his grip. He smiled unsuredly at first but as they continued to walk he only found it easier, soon he had forgotten about it altogether and just enjoyed the walk.

On the rooftops of the street they were walking down Shampoo and Ukyo watched with curiosity and concern. Shampoo was grumbling to herself about how Ranma never held _her _hand like that. Ukyo was just watching with watery eyes at the way Ranma could walk down the street holding a girl's hand and it wasn't hers. More saddening to the young chef was the fact that Ranma seemed unfazed; in fact he seemed completely happy.

Her heart let out a small pang as she watched the man she loved with a girl she knew only deserved happiness for the way she lived her life. With all her heart she wanted to despise the eldest Tendo daughter, she should, she was only between her and her Ranchan the same way Akane was. Even so, Ukyo didn't have a single nasty or critical thing to say about the older woman, she was just too... perfect.

"Shampoo" Her co-conspirator looked across at her, startled out of her grumbling and glaring. "I, I can't do this." Shampoo just stared at her critically, her eyes narrowing.

"What Spatula girl mean?" She had dropped the pretence of her name now that mutiny may be in the air. Ukyo sighed and looked back down to the happy couple on the street.

"Look at him Shampoo, he's happy." She looked back at Shampoo with pain and sadness, but also a tired resignation in her eyes. "I can't come between them, then I wouldn't deserve him." Shampoo's glare increased in intensity as Ukyo continued. "Remember the wedding Shampoo? Remember how Ranchan was after that?" She sighed again wearily. "What if he doesn't forgive us this time? I can't lose him forever, even if it means only having him as a friend." She stood up from her crouched position and Shampoo did the same, angrily, but with a newfound concern for her actions.

"Spatula girl give up too too easily. Nice girl obstacle, obstacle is for removing." She looked across at her former partner and Ukyo looked right back.

"But what then Shampoo? Even if you do break them up then it all just goes back to the way it was before with Ranma growing more and more frustrated until he lashes out and hurts somebody. What if it was us, or somebody we care about, or even worse himself?" She wearily shook her head looking at the ground. "I love Ranchan with all my heart, and that's why I can't do this." After that she turned and just walked away from Shampoo.

The lilac-haired girl looked down as Ranma and Kasumi were about to move out of view. She looked back at Ukyo and then back at the couple, her head darted back and forth as the other girls words sunk in. She had a few seconds to make a decision or Ranma would walk away and make it for her. She scrunched up her eyes and took off after the pair. _'Spatula girl is wrong, I love Airen too much to let him be with another woman.' _However even her thoughts were tinged with uncertainty.

Shampoo rounded the corner of the rooftop, sighing with relief when she spotted Ranma and Kasumi. She raced up to their general position and started getting the first part of her plan ready. While the Amazons' plans were notorious for backfiring she had come up with this with Ukyo's help so she hoped that the two of them together could find a solid solution. She could still do it without the other girl so with determination and stubbornness she grabbed the large cask of cold water they had hidden up here early and with a grunt she began tipping it over the edge of the roof.

Ranma was really enjoying this; there was no need to talk, for the moment the two simply enjoyed each others' company and the feeling of their fingers intertwined. He was about to say something to Kasumi when suddenly about a tank full of water crashed over the both of them. They stood in shock for a few moments just looking at the ground and their clothing before looking up. Neither could see where the water had come from and Ranma sighed heavily; now the curse was producing water out of thin air just to piss him off. Kasumi looked across at a now female Ranma and giggled at his drenched and feminine appearance.

"Oh dear Ranma, now we'll have to go back and get some hot water." Shampoo fist pumped the air in happiness, she was about to walk away from the successful mission when Ranma spoke up.

Ah don't worry about it Kasumi, watch this." He visibly concentrated a moment and Kasumi felt the warmth in the air slowly rain back into him. A heat haze appeared around his body and steam started rising off of his clothes as he concentrated his Aura into a blazing hot membrane around his skin. There was enough steam from the excess water to trigger his curse and soon a very dry and very male Ranma was smiling happily at his companion. Kasumi merely looked back at him in surprise, first he walked on water and now this. He never ceased to amaze her.

"That was incredible Ranma. Why haven't you ever done that before?" He grinned sheepishly.

"Like I said, I've only just started working on it. It's basically the same thing as the heat generating but more concentrated." He looked at her still soaking form and dress and stifled a laugh "Do you want me to do it for you too?" She too looked down at her appearance, noting how disheveled she must look. She nodded meekly, a little nervous, but she trusted Ranma completely.

He walked forward and tightly wrapped his arms around her in a warm hug, literally. From every part of his body that touched her heat passed between them, evaporating the water off of her body and clothes. Soon enough she was just as dry as he was but she noted with a small blush he hadn't let go of the hug.

"Ranma, while I do enjoy this, we _are _in public." He suddenly backed off, once again donning his full body blush. Kasumi felt oddly refreshed, her hair felt freshly blow-dried and her clothes were fluffier as if they had come straight from the machine. She smiled at his embarrassment and took his hand once again before leading the slightly fidgety teen onwards. He once again extended his aura outward fought off the cold for the both of them.

Shampoo just looked on from the rooftop, eye twitching; as she watched the events unfold. She had been so sure that would have at least delayed the two, putting a damper on their evening. How was she to know of this new ability of Ranma's? Like Kasumi the pigtailed martial artist only ever surprised and confused the young Amazon. With a gulp she realised she had only made things worse by actually giving Ranma a reason to hug Kasumi. _'Oh well, there's always the second phase.'_

Now that they had been slightly delayed Ranma and Kasumi picked up their pace a bit and made it to the restaurant quickly. It was a fairly new restaurant that had only opened last week and Nabiki was the one who recommended them. Ranma hadn't decided if he was going to thank her or not yet and would wait until after he had tried the food. He walked up to the friendly looking waiter who held a false but still warm smile and waited patiently for the couple before him to speak.

"Uh hi, table for two I guess?" the waiter briefly smirked at the youth before him as he unsuredly glanced at his date. _'Kids...' _he smiled politely and led them over to a table not far from the entrance to the kitchen. The delicious smell of food wafted over to the pair and Ranma's stomach led out a large grumble causing Kasumi to laugh.

"I think coming out to a restaurant was a good idea after all." He nodded quickly in agreement as the waiter took their orders. Once he was gone Ranma nervously looked around the restaurant. There were a few other couples enjoying the night out and he tried to get some idea of what he should be doing. He only grew frustrated when he realised they all just seemed to be talking to one another and seemed to have no difficulty doing it. He cursed the fact he had a useless lump of a father who was completely unable to explain any of this to him, how he had managed to get his mother was beyond him.

"It's strange; I've never noticed this restaurant before." Ranma sighed with relief, Kasumi was making small talk but it was a big help. He realised with an internal sigh that she seemed to be putting in the effort here and he resolved to change that.

"It's new, Nabiki told me about it." She nodded idly, looking around the small restaurant at the patrons and their food.

"The food smells delicious." Ranma smirked confidently.

"I bet it's not nearly as good as anything you could make." It was actually more of a statement of fact than an outright compliment but Kasumi looked away embarrassed all the same. "Where did you learn to cook anyway Kasumi?" She looked up shocked; people had complimented her cooking lots of times before but nobody had ever taken a genuine interest in it like Ranma was.

"I learned from my mother, before she... passed on" he noticed he had entered into a touchy subject and winced involuntarily. She noticed his discomfort and only smiled with hint of melancholy. "It's alright Ranma, it's been a long time now and while it still hurts to think about I've moved on." He relaxed noticeably.

"What was it like? Growing up with a mother?" He looked past her wistfully at a small family not too far away from them as the mother picked up her child and set him on her lap, playfully feeding him. Kasumi looked over her shoulder and smiled at the heart-warming scene before looking back around at Ranma.

"Honestly I wouldn't know how to describe it, sorry. It's all I ever knew so I have nothing to compare it to." He nodded thoughtfully and had expected at much, even so it couldn't hurt to see.

"Well have you ever thought of doing something with your skills like opening a restaurant?" She looked at him with wonder for a moment, looking for the false interest she knew she wouldn't find. It still amazed her that he took a genuine interest in her life, going as far to ask about her plans for the future.

"Oh I don't know Ranma, people compliment my cooking but I'm not sure it's quite up to that standard." He grinned broadly, shaking his head in disagreement.

"Nah, your food's great; don't tell them but I think you're better at Ukyo in anything but okonomiyaki and the same with Shampoo and ramen." He looked up suddenly when he thought he heard a loud huff coming from somewhere but when he looked around he couldn't see anything. Kasumi still looked unconvinced even though she was quietly smiling from the great compliment. If anybody knew food it was Ranma and she did trust his judgment on these things, even if he was only a fledgling cook himself.

"Well what about medicine?" Kasumi looked up, intrigued at where the question had come from. "You used to go to Tofu's all the time and get books right? I always thought you were training for medicine or something." Her brow rose in surprise that he had even remembered that with the rest of his life all around him. It touched her that even back then Ranma noticed her, and not just as the keeper of the household.

"Well, I did use to want to be a nurse." She smiled dreamily, a new look that Ranma hadn't seen on Kasumi's face before. It was filled with hope and expectation and lit up her face. He was actually a little disappointed when it passed and she looked back into his eyes. "The thought of helping people recover from injury just seemed appealing." Ranma could see it, Kasumi as a gentle healer helping people come back from disease and injury. Suddenly he noticed all of the past tenses Kasumi had been using.

"Well what happened? Why did you stop?" She looked sadly at the table.

"I couldn't just leave my family like that." Ranma's brow furrowed in slight annoyance, although it wasn't aimed at his date.

"You know Kasumi you can't be their housekeeper for the rest of your life. You have to live your own life, walk your own path." His gaze softened. "I know you care about your family and I think it's wonderful that you've helped them as you have all these years, but don't you think if you keep mothering them like this you're only stopping them from becoming independent? You saw what happened when we came back from the vacation; if my mother hadn't been there who knows what would have happened?" Kasumi thought on his words for a moment and couldn't help but see the logic behind them.

She had slipped into the role so suddenly and fluidly that her family had merely accepted it and moved on. The next decade of their lives had just been built around her as the pillar for the entire household, holding everything together with her tireless work and unwavering patience. It had grown almost to the point of dependence and maybe that was why Nabiki had become so independent, she had seen what was going on and had gotten out of it before she too ended up dependent on her sister like some kind of parasite.

"But Ranma what can I do? Without me what would Father and Akane do?" He smiled encouragingly, knowing how difficult this must be for the older girl after so long. He got an idea and a metaphorical bulb lit over his head.

"Kasumi, what is the procedure for getting addicts off of drugs?" She looked at him thoughtfully pondering the strange question for a moment. She thought back to some of the medical texts she had read and answered as technically as she could.

"Well you wean them off slowly from their dependence until they are able to resist the addiction. If that doesn't work you let them go cold turkey until it's all out of their system and they're shocked into sobriety." He nodded, grinning at her answer and she stared at him a moment, wondering why he had asked until it dawned on her. "My caring for them isn't really like an addiction, is it?" He just sadly nodded and she knew that it did share similarities; dependence, withdrawal, the fact that it only grew worse over time.

"I guess you're right, but I don't know how to start. How do I wean my family off of myself?" Ranma looked on thoughtfully but nothing immediately sprung to mind.

"Sorry, I guess I don't actually know, maybe we can think about it and come up with something together." She smiled at the thought and nodded, noticeably happier than before. Ranma cursed silently, how had he managed to let the conversation turn to such a saddening topic? Even so, the two were none the worse for it, in fact Kasumi might actually be a little better off for it so Ranma felt good and his smile only reflected Kasumi's own.

"Well what about you Ranma? What are your plans for the future?" He was about to answer but he noticed a waiter weaving between the tables towards them holding two platters of the food they had ordered. He licked his lips hungrily at the sight; the conversation with Kasumi had managed to distract him from his stomach's protests but now that it was here there was no denying just how hungry he was.

Shampoo smirked as she shrunk back into the shadows; Ranma hadn't been the only one who had noticed the food going their way. She had immediately recognised one of the dishes as something Ranma would order which automatically made the other one Kasumi's. She feigned bumping into the waiter, not hard enough to make him drop the dishes but enough that she could quickly lean across and dump her specially sleeping spice into the food. She smirked, Kasumi would fall asleep, straight into her food and Ranma would think he was boring her. Shampoo couldn't actually take credit, this part had been all Ukyo's idea and she thanked the young chef as she moved out of sight.

The waiter set their dishes down and with a polite bow moved back off to the kitchen for his next order. Ranma was about to happily dig in when he noticed a nervous look cross Kasumi's face. He looked around and saw that what was in front of her was not the food she had ordered and his brow furrowed when she picked up her chopsticks anyway.

"Hey Kasumi, you shouldn't eat that."

"Huh?" She looked at him curiously.

"That's not what you ordered. You should ask them to take it back." She shyly shook her head.

"Oh no, I wouldn't want to be a bother, this food will be just fine." She was about to start eating the food but Ranma intercepted her chopsticks with his own.

"Kasumi, you have to start being a bit more assertive. You have a right as the customer to the food that you ordered and paid for." She looked at him pleadingly but he held her gaze firmly. Her eyes flickered between him, the food and the retreating waiter until she lazily raised her arm a bit.

"Excuse me." The waiter turned and returned to the table, waiting patiently. "This wasn't the food I ordered." The man looked down at the food and picked it up; with a gracious bow he once again retreated into the kitchen. Kasumi sighed in relief when he had gone far enough away, her voice had been weak and she didn't even realise she had been holding her breath. Ranma smiled at her, grinning like an idiot.

"That was great Kasumi. And that wasn't so hard now was it?" He was almost cut off by his own stomach releasing another growl as his nostrils continued to take in the scent of his food. Kasumi giggled and just motioned for him to start, he hesitated a moment but put his chopsticks firmly back down on the table. "Nah, I can wait." As if to disagree with him his stomach continued to gurgle but Ranma managed to resist the lure of the steaming food until the waiter returned with Kasumi's dish; the correct one this time.

"I apologize for the mistake miss." And with that he returned to the work. While Ranma was being a gracious date he wasn't made of stone and as soon as Kasumi's food was down on the table he cheerfully dug into his own. She smiled at him, it may have seemed like nothing but she knew that Ranma waiting while food was right in front of him was a huge challenge, unless Akane cooked it of course. She sighed happily and started her own food at a considerably slower pace, thinking about the gracious gesture.

Shampoo cursed again from her position, nothing was going her way tonight. She had noticed the mistake with the food but didn't get a chance to reach the waiter and re-do the sleeping spice before he made it to the pair's table. She watched with dismay as a couple on the other side of the room who were sharing their dish suddenly slumped forward onto the table, sound asleep. It earned a few odd looks from the patrons around them and Shampoo had to leave before people saw her and suspected the strange girl that wasn't eating of something.

* * *

The two of them had finished their meal with Ranma paying and walked back outside, the cold air felt good after the slightly stuffy restaurant so Ranma only created a weak aura to stave off the worst of it. Kasumi didn't complain as they slowly made their way back through the streets in a random winding pattern, their hands firmly locked together as they enjoyed the moonlight night. They of course weren't the only ones out in the streets at this time of night but they passed by everybody else without a second glance, their own company enough to satisfy them.

Shampoo once again watched from the rooftops, she didn't have much more time as it had begun to get tiring, masking her presence from the heightened senses of the pigtailed teen. If he wasn't so distracted he would have sensed her a long time ago and it was burning up a lot of her Ki reserves to manage even this much. She wished it hadn't come to this but she now saw she had no choice, she released the creature in her hands and threw it gently towards the walking couple. The cat landed right in front of Ranma and did not go unnoticed for more than a second.

"C-C-C-Cat!" Ranma nearly screamed it out as he saw the lazy feline staring slightly annoyed at the one who threw him so suddenly. It looked at the two newcomers and appraised them in a way only a cat can. It mewled softly and Kasumi looked on, thinking it was cute while Ranma had a wholly different reaction.

"Meow" Shampoo smirked from her position, she had expected Ranma to run away but she guessed this worked just as well. That tomcat had been annoying her for a while now and she had been looking forward to an opportunity to get rid of it. _'Damn cats in heat, no human can ever understand what that is like'. _She grinned as she saw Kasumi look oddly at Ranma when he hunched down onto all fours and began hissing at the cat in front of him. The cat just looked at the strange human and walked off, not wanting to deal with such peculiarities.

"Oh my, that's right, Ranma's condition. I had almost forgotten." Kasumi looked at the Neko-state boy and tutted to herself. "How unfortunate." She tried to dredge up all she knew about the Neko-Ken from the last time Ranma had turned, which admittedly was a while ago now. If she remembered correctly he would either snap out of it during the transformation or when calmed down enough. It was usually Akane who calmed him down but she supposed it couldn't be too hard. 'L_ike dealing with any cat I guess'_

She bent down on her knees and looked across at the boy-turned-cat who was now lazily looking around, not quite sure what to do now that it wasn't being threatened. He turned to the sound of Kasumi making squeaking sounds with her lips and holding out her hand, rubbing her thumb across the fingers in the way you do when trying to get an animal to approach you. Ranma did come closer, intrigued by the hypnotic movements and sounds. Kasumi knelt down a little further and Ranma gratefully crawled onto her lap, curling up into a small ball and affectionately rubbing himself across her chest.

Kasumi blushed furiously at the peculiar motions but kept calm, Ranma wasn't in his right state of mind after all. She blushing more due to the fact she was actually enjoying the contact, it felt good, even if Ranma wasn't doing it on purpose. Eventually the ball of a teen started lightly snoring and Kasumi smiled gently down at him before lightly shaking his shoulders. Ranma groggily opened his eyes, looking around him; he found it strange that he appeared to be on a street floor yet the thing he was lying on was soft and warm.

He looked around further and saw something unusual, two large lumps in front of him encased in some kind of material the same colour as Kasumi's... He was out of her lap possibly faster than he had ever looked before. He was halfway across the street and his entire body was bright crimson by the time he stopped. Kasumi just smiled at him in her innocent way and he stared back, partly horrified by what he had done and at the same time embarrassed because it had felt so natural.

"W-What happened? What was I doing?" She looked at him, still smiling with her eyes closed, the red just starting to leave her cheeks.

"There was a cat," Ranma flinched at the word "But it's gone now. I brought you out of that strange state you entered in a few minutes." He looked at her oddly.

"Y-You brought me out of the Neko-Ken?" She nodded cheerfully and his brow furrowed, he though only Akane could do that, but he guessed nobody else had really tried. He supposed that anybody who could calm him down could manage it and he smiled briefly when he realised that he did feel calmer around Kasumi, no wonder she could do it. "Well, thanks." She just walked over and linked hands with him again.

"It's no problem Ranma." He grinned sheepishly, rubbing his hand against the back of his head. Suddenly his gaze dropped and he looked at Kasumi sadly, almost with guilt.

"So, uh Kasumi. What do you think of uh, you know, me and stuff?" She looked at him in a bemused way and he clarified. "You know like my curse and the Neko-ken and stuff?" her smile dropped for the moment.

"Oh" his heart sank at the single word, it was filled with such reflection and thought that he regretted even bringing it up, he was sure he wouldn't like the answer. "Well I can't say that I wasn't surprised at first and it was all very strange." His heart sank even lower but suddenly a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth, a genuine one and his hopes picked up. "I really don't mind your curse Ranma; I know it's still you, no matter what you look like."

Before he could even react she pulled out a thermos from her handbag and poured the cold water inside over him. Now a girl he was about to ask why she did it but before he could she leaned across and kissed him on the cheek. He froze solid and when she pulled away she laughed a bit at how shell-shocked he looked.

"Like I said Ranma, I don't mind what you look like" she poked him lightly in the chest, right above his heart "As long as _you_ don't change." He smiled idiotically at her and she couldn't help but laugh again, he could be so silly sometimes, soon enough he would get over this strange reaction to intimacy, she was sure of it. They walked on after Ranma had used his new ability to change back, not saying a word because none needed to be said.

Shampoo watched the whole thing, growing more and more frustrated with ever second that passed. The cat had been her last ploy, her trump card, and it had failed, probably bringing the two even closer. She angrily kicked the ventilation unit next to her, leaving a large, foot-shaped dent in the metal. She watched the couple move away, towards the Tendo house as she ground her teeth in annoyance. _'This isn't over yet. It can't be'._


	14. Misconceptions

It was dark when they got back, a cloud had passed over the moon and the only illumination on the streets was the faint light streaming through the drawn curtains of the houses. It hit the couple, picking out their features in a way that only made them look at each other differently. Ranma saw the streaks of Kasumi's hair as well as her twinkling eyes and the ever so slight smile that graced her lips. Kasumi saw Ranma's more confident smile as well as the reflection of his slate blue eyes and the accented jaw and cheeks.

They stood like that in front of the door to the house, staring at each other. Some might have called it awkward yet the two were quite happy just looking at one another. Ranma briefly looked around, waiting for the one or more things that were going to ruin the night. He was once again surprised when they didn't happen; he was starting to think that just being around Kasumi was cancelling out the natural chaos that flocked to him like crows to carrion. He smiled even greater at the thought and Kasumi did the same when she saw his grin.

By now the strange pause and accompanying silence were beginning to become awkward as Ranma nervously pushed his fingers together. _'Damn I'm as bad as Ryoga around Akane right now!' _Not wanting to look the fool in front of Kasumi he gave her a fleeting nervous smile before taking her hands and pulling her into a hug. It may not have been the most romantic and comfortable hug, especially as they were both completely new to this whole experience, but they both found it pleasant. Ranma pulled back and Kasumi held on a little tighter, not quite ready to give up on the pleasant sensation just yet.

"But Kasumi I thought-" She leaned back and shushed him by placing a finger to his mouth.

"I told you Ranma, I like this and..." A look Ranma had never seen on Kasumi's face flashed by briefly and he could only wonder at what it was. "...We aren't in public anymore." His face went flush and he blinked quite rapidly as she looked him over and giggled into her hand. She moved back from him, the mischief now evident in her eyes as he caught onto her joke. "Sorry Ranma I couldn't resist. Nabiki gets to have her fun and I just wanted to try it."

He nodded shyly, still quite shocked from it all; if he hadn't been himself just then, he probably would have found it funny too. She sighed happily at the young man she had spent the night with and before he could get even more nervous and possibly run off she pulled him forward again and planted a chaste kiss on his lips. She nearly burst out laughing again when she leaned away and saw his, now even more, shocked face. He was beetroot red and his brain looked just about ready to short-circuit as he stood there, motionless.

One thought did manage to get through his frazzled mind and that was he had liked the kiss very much. Like the one on the roof not too long ago it left a burning impression on his lips and a desire for more. Unlike on the roof he finally acted on that desire and pulled Kasumi forward again, kissing her more fully and with none of the previous chastity. She let him pull her in, only thankful that Ranma was now the one acting instead of reacting as she melted into him. Of course those thoughts vanished to never return when she allowed herself to fully experience the kiss and everything that came with it.

Her heart fluttered madly in her chest and if her lips were not glued to the teen's in front of her, her breathing would have been rapid and shallow. Her eyes had been initially wide open in shock of the sudden intimacy but they quickly closed as she allowed only one sensation be overwhelmed. They both finally released the other, panting with their respective chests heaving, and both were smiling with a mixture of serenity and excitement. Kasumi looked at Ranma one last time before she smiled meekly, kissed him one last time on the cheek and walked into the house.

Ranma watched her go with the edges of his mouth upturned in a happy smile that his glazed over eyes reflected well. He knew from too many films that usually the guy didn't live with the girl he was dating and usually left for his own home right now, he decided to simply not use the door and jumped up onto the roof. He quickly ran over and did a tricky flip before his hands caught the lip of the roof and he swung onto his windowsill, still with that same smile on his features.

He slipped into the room and immediately noticed his father wasn't there. It was late and he wasn't asleep, that meant he was either in some kind of trouble or he was out drinking; probably selling Ranma's soul to the devil if his track record was anything to go by. He chuckled; either way that meant he had the room to himself for the night as if it was the latter his father would be far too drunk to find his way home by morning. He sighed, sometimes those nights were the only times in his young life he could wake up with a modicum of peace, the fact that the room wouldn't smell of wet panda was just a plus.

He sighed as he took off his shirt, carefully putting it back on his wardrobe; really he just wanted to know what was going though his father's head sometimes. One minute he was a kind, seemingly well-meaning father, and the next the cloak was ripped away and in his place would be a drunken, gambling, greedy, uncaring and selfish wretch of a man. He was so bi-polar on it that his curse only seemed to reflect that nature; it was only a shame the good half of him seemed forever locked away in that bundle of useless fur occasionally called a panda.

He was about to take off his pants as well when he finally noticed a shadow in the corner of the room flicker ever so slightly. He dropped into a ready stance, warily eying the darkened corner of the room and now that he was listening he could faintly hear what sounded like muffled sobbing. He inched forward, wary of some trap that one of his many rivals or enemies could have set; his disliking of crying girls was hardly a secret. He flicked on the light and was more that shocked to see Shampoo, curled up with her face buried in her knees, softly crying.

It shocked him to see the normally proud and indomitable Amazon reduced to gently weeping, curled up like a child locked in their room. He gently walked over with his guard now lowered, but still very much alert for any trickery that might be going on. It hurt him to be so callous and untrusting as a girl openly wept in front of him but right now Ranma just had to be certain. When no move was made or trap sprung he moved a bit more quickly to Shampoo's side and crouched down next to her, carefully prying the hands away from the girl's eyes.

"Shampoo? What's going on? Why are you crying in my room?" He didn't mean for the questions to come out quite so blunt but he hoped he had still conveyed the genuine concern and worry he felt for the girl. It amazed him that he wasn't falling over himself trying to cheer her up but he had realised at some point that you had to let somebody like this open up themself. He realised that it might just be because not too long ago he too had felt just as Shampoo looked.

She slowly raised her head and Ranma could see the still drying tears staining her cheeks. Her make-up was running down her face and her eyes were bloodshot and brimming with fresh tears. As she looked at him she must have realised how weak she was as she bit back the tears and dried her cheeks with her forearms enough to wipe away the make-up that had run. Sadly she stared up at him a moment before shakily standing up. Ranma was careful and stayed near her in case she fell but she stood firmly, the last of the tears gone as she looked at him with an expression he didn't recognise.

"Shampoo see Airen kiss too too nice girl. Shampoo cry because she know Airen no love Shampoo." Ranma blanched, once again he was the sole reason for a girl crying and he felt like a jerk just thinking about it.

"Shampoo that's not-" She looked up hopefully, her eyes sparkling with the prospect of him telling her everything was going to be okay. It caused him to stop and rethink his words mid-sentence; he had been about to say words to similar effects as the world he had come to balance around himself had become so natural. It was lucky he had stopped himself as he now realised what an opportunity this was. He motioned for Shampoo to sit back down and she did so, if a little uncertain of how Ranma was acting; even he admitted it was rather out of character for him to actually want to speak with Shampoo.

"Shampoo, we really need to talk." She nodded somewhat cheerfully but wariness had entered her eyes. She knew that something important was about to happen but she didn't know in what way.

"Shampoo want talk to Airen, is all Shampoo ever want." While they both knew that wasn't completely true, as evidence by a lot of Shampoo's actions around him, Ranma let it slide as he realised he did neglect the girl a lot.

"Shampoo, why do you act the way you do around me?" Shampoo cocked her head to the side in an innocent manner with large eyes that would have a lot of guys melt on the ground in front of her.

"Shampoo no know what Airen mean." He gave her a look that told her he knew that she did in fact know what he was talking about and she sighed. "Airen mean glomp?" He nodded, that was among the things he was referring to but it was along the right lines. Shampoo looked away from him with what he thought was guilt, which looked quite out of place on the proud girl's usually confident features, especially in the state she was in now.

"Shampoo have to" he looked at her curiously as she composed herself enough to continued and explain. "Other girls have advantages. Violent girl, and now nice girl, live with Ranma, have time, and see you lots. Spatula girl know Ranma for long time, many memories and Ranma talk to her." Shampoo sighed, looking away again, not wanting to look Ranma in the eyes. "Sometimes Shampoo feel that all she has is looks. Shampoo not shallow but Shampoo love Airen so have to use what can to make Ranma notice Shampoo." She finally looked around, gauging his reaction to her words.

He stared a moment, not slack jawed or awkwardly but stared nonetheless. He was thinking about how he had missed that all this time the girl's actions were nothing more than a plea for attention. Maybe if he spent more time- no, he remembered Kasumi's words about the past once again and shook himself out of it. He stared at Shampoo, trying to figure out what to say to her in the first and longest conversation they had really ever had. It was important he say the right words, the wrong ones right now could be disastrous and end up hurting somebody he cared about.

"Shampoo I, well I never realised." He stopped himself before he went down his usual path of placation; it wasn't going to help him right now. "Shampoo, couldn't you see that what you were doing was driving me away?" She stared at him, not the normal blank and innocent stare but one filled with remorse and regret. "The glomps in front of the other fiancées, the plots and trickery... "He looked painfully into her face "...using explosives at the wedding." She winced at the last one.

"Shampoo become desperate, see violent girl so close to Airen and know she wrong for him. Shampoo even work with Spatula girl because she see it too." Mentally she actually found it comforting that Ranma was finally out of Akane's reach, even if he had somehow worked his way into the arms of somebody much better suited to him, something Shampoo shouldn't have liked one bit. "Shampoo want Airen to know, truthfully, that Shampoo love Ranma. Not because of Amazon law, at least not now." He looked at her curiously; she was beginning to become the old Shampoo again, stronger and more willful yet this was still a conversation and she wasn't proclaiming her love, she was merely telling him what she wanted him to hear.

"Shampoo, I know you do." She sat back a bit, shocked that Ranma had even admitted it; she was rather scared when his head came back up from staring at the floor with pain written in his eyes. "But Shampoo, you weren't the only one. I know Ukyo also feels that way, even if I could only ever see her as a sister." He looked back down "You are both important to me; my life has been so lonely that any friends I could make were worthwhile."

Shampoo was starting to see why Ranma always held back in his fights with Ryoga, even as the lost boy continued his tirades and declarations of vengeance. She realised it was almost sad that Ranma had to be reduced to that, making friends from his rivals because he could find no others. She was also faintly shocked that Ranma would even call her a friend; after all she had one to him and the people he cared about, even after everything the fact that he could do that spoke volumes about just who he was. A single tear managed to escape her newly reinforced defences at the thought of how forgiving the teen in front of her was; with another thought that made her want to start crying again she realised it only made her love him more.

"Don't get me wrong Shampoo, you've caused me a fair share of grief over the years, and more than your fair share of frustration. But I realise that some of that responsibility is with me, I could have done this sooner, made my feelings clear and allowed you your chance to defend yourself. I never did that and I'm sorry." This truly was a turn of events, somehow Shampoo had come in here, mentally begging for forgiveness, comfort and a last chance and Ranma was the one apologizing. Deep inside the young Amazon her definition of what strength really meant was beginning to unravel at the seams.

Shampoo couldn't take it; she knew she didn't deserve his kind words. She furtively looked about herself, fresh tears already welling in her eyes as she stood up quickly and burst out of the window, leaving a rather shocked Ranma in her wake. Kasumi knocked on his door and he went over and opened it. She saw the strange look on his face and became concerned when she saw the open window and the way it was hanging slightly on its hinges.

"Oh my Ranma, what happened?" He looked at the window a moment.

"Shampoo was here, we talked a bit and she ran off crying." Kasumi once again turned to the window, concern evident on her face as she thought of the young Amazon.

"Don't you think you should go after her Ranma?" He looked a little startled, there was no screams of 'Pervert' or angry malleting. He had just openly admitted to having Shampoo in his room and without a second thought Kasumi had only worried about her. His heart swelled a little in pride of the older girl as he nodded his head determined not to let her down. He rushed out the window, only briefly stopping to turn and marvel one last time at Kasumi as she smiled encouragingly and motioned with her head for him to go.

He raced out after the crying girl; easily locating her now she had stopped hiding her presence due to her emotional state. He raced over the rooftops; he was faster than Shampoo but she had a large head start. He caught up to her just outside the Nekohanten, She had been about to go inside but he grabbed her wrist, lightly so as not to hurt her, and span her around. He grabbed the other wrist and pulled her into a hug before she could do or say anything else.

Shampoo stood there, shocked and disbelieving but soon the comfort Ranma's arms and chest provided, as well as her own emotions, finally got the better of her as she openly wept into his chest. He allowed her to, lightly stroking her hair back, having also seen this in the movies and silently thanking the directors for the helpful hints. She kept crying for quite a while, even Ranma didn't know how long but when she stopped she looked up at Ranma, freshly tear-stained eyes looking at him questioningly, like a child about to receive their punishment but not quite sure what they were getting.

"Why Airen come after Shampoo?" He sighed, something Shampoo could feel now that she was pressed up against his chest slightly. He surprised him a little by being the one to separate from the embrace, obviously taking this quite seriously.

"Like I said Shampoo, I care about you" he looked down but caught himself and looked back into the girl's eyes. He couldn't believe it was finally happening but at least Shampoo deserved to be told to her face. "But not in that way. I like you, and maybe there was a chance it could have been more than that if things had been different." She looked about ready to cry again so he pushed on before she had the chance. "I care about Kasumi, and I know she cares about me. I don't want to do anything to ruin that." He looked at her a moment and sighed again, the movies made things all look so easy but with every word his heart was straining.

"I care about you too and I don't want to do anything to lose you... but as a friend" Shampoo stared at him, her eyes shimmering in the light like two bright orbs of coloured water.

"Friends?" He smiled weakly.

"Yeah, we should get to know each other, you know I've been around you for two years and I don't even know a thing about you except that you're an exceptional fighter and you turn into a cat." She couldn't help but giggle; a sensation that felt strange when her emotions were so inverted right now. It did seem odd that two people who had known one another so long wouldn't actually know each other. Even Shampoo had to admit she didn't know all that much about the man she claimed to love. She didn't even know what his favourite food was.

He smiled, happy that she could giggle and he looked around briefly, seeing if there was anybody watching their little interaction. He sighed when there wasn't but his eyes stuck on the Nekohanten and a sinking feeling entered his gut. He looked back at Shampoo as she mulled over the word 'friend' in her mind, considering the possibilities and ramifications.

"If Shampoo Airen's _friend_ then we spend time together?" He nodded slowly and a small smile entered her own features, brightening her face up considerably. "Like date?" he chuckled, the foreign girl still had a lot to learn about being a normal teenager; not that he was one to talk.

"No, but sort of." She scrunched up her eyes trying to puzzle out what Ranma had said when he contradicted himself. He took the chance to glance at the cafe with all its lights turned out, if Cologne or Mousse saw them out here then this might go badly. Shampoo opened her eyes, thinking that she had gotten the jist of what Ranma was trying to say. She saw him looking towards the cafe and her home and immediately understood what was on his mind.

"Ranma think about Great-Grandmother?" He nodded, still looking towards the quiet building. Shampoo went quiet and Ranma turned back around to see her staring rather guiltily at the floor. "Airen promise not to be mad?" Ranma didn't move but Shampoo continued anyway. "Shampoo not honest with Airen about village laws." He eyed her suspiciously but hid it from his face as best he could.

"What do you mean?" he tried to keep his tine neutral but some of his suspicion leaked out and Shampoo looked even guiltier.

"Village laws say that outside man who challenge Amazon and win is Amazon's wife." He nodded slowly, knowing this already but she looked at him expectantly, as if that was all she needed to say. When he just stared back at her blankly she explained, thinking that this would all be so much easier if she could just speak Chinese. "Airen no challenge Shampoo." That immediately cleared things up and Ranma openly stared at her in shock as she cringed away, expecting angry and hateful words.

"B-But the old ghoul..." Shampoo smiled sheepishly.

"Shampoo tell small lie to Great-Grandmother, not want her to know proud Amazon warrior get knocked out by own chúi." He stared blankly for another few moments, Shampoo once again preparing herself from the inevitable tongue lashing. However as her eyes were closed she could only hear laughing. She opened her eyes curiously to see Ranma, doubled over, laughing into his hand to try and stifle the loud chortles.

"What so funny Airen? Shampoo serious!" He only increased his laughter when she took on a semi-fake hurt look, crossing her hands under her chest in mock anger.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just, the old ghoul, after all this time, didn't know, tried so hard" he was fighting for the words between gasps as he finally succumbed and fell on the floor, laughing away the frustrations and anger that should have been there but just wouldn't come to the surface. Shampoo gave up her act and couldn't help but smile at seeing Ranma in just a state.

"Airen act strange, Shampoo see tomorrow, look forward to being..." She smiled to herself a moment "...friends" She happily, but confusedly, walked around to the back of the restaurant, leaving Ranma to pick himself and walk back the way he had come, still chuckling to himself over the sheer absurdity of it all. It was as if he were some comedic writer's cruel plaything and he was finally starting to see the joke; it was eye-opening.

He arrived back at the Tendo house not much better but he had managed to stop by the time he pulled the front door open. He didn't want to wake anybody so he was content for now with a large grin on his face. He walked through the house silently and spotted Kasumi draped out over the couch. He realised that she must have waited for him but fell asleep because of how late it was. His grin turned into a fond smile as he walked over gently and hefted the girl soundlessly into his arms.

He moved through the house again with Kasumi in tow, he would drop her off in her room before retiring to his own for some well needed rest. Today had been rather hectic and nerve-rattling to say the least and his bed was sounding more and more heavenly the closer he came. Suddenly Kasumi stirred in his arms and her eyes opened blearily, looking up at his face and noticing she was being carried. He smiled down at her and she tiredly smiled back.

"Ranma, what's going on?" He chuckled once, just lightly.

"You fell asleep on the couch. I was bringing you to your room.

"Oh, thank you, that's..."She yawned and he chuckled again at how cute it sounded coming from the girl in his arms. "...very kind." He only smiled in response as she started drifting back off to sleep, but not before wearily leaning up and wrapping her arms around his neck in a hurried hug and planting a long kiss on his cheek. He would have blushed but his body knew there was no point as Kasumi immediately, but gracefully, fell right back to sleep; she snuggled in a bit closer to the heat of Ranma's body.

He laid her down a little later in her bed and just watched her for a little while, it wasn't perverted or sick he just couldn't help but admire how even in sleep she could look so peaceful. He crept back out and across the landing before slipping under his own covers. Even though there was plenty to think about tonight he had no fears that sleep would find him.


	15. What one man can do

In Ranma's opinion it was much too early in the morning for his usual thoughts to swarm his mind. He was barely five minutes into the day and already a blizzard of half-formed thoughts and memories were speeding through his head. Usually he would at least have until after breakfast to worry about these things but it seemed that today his mind was most insistent he think about them. It was of course mostly about his conversation with Shampoo and the result; a part of him wanted to be ecstatic that he had finally made some progress in that area while another warned him to be cautious.

He couldn't help but feel overjoyed; his heart overrode his mind's objections as he practically wanted to scream out the fact that he had a friend. Not a fiancée, not a rival, not even an acquaintance; an actual friend. It got him thinking as he walked through the house, not only had he actually admitted his feelings for Kasumi to somebody else, but he had solved one of his major problems just by talking about it. As he wandered into the kitchen he wondered if he could do the same for his other current fiancée.

Ukyo was already his friend, if he discounted their last confusing conversation, so he felt that it should and could be even easier to talk with her about. However he knew that his life was never that easy, at least not until recently; too recently for him to have let his guard down fully. Even with all of these extra thoughts clouding his morning he managed to get through his usual breakfast routine the same as always. Something did manage to put him off though, the fact that he hadn't seen Kasumi at all yet; she was usually up by now.

When he had a few minutes, when the rice was cooking, he wandered quickly back through the house and crept soundlessly to Kasumi's room where he carefully peered through the crack he made whilst opening it. He was very cautious and ready to quickly avert his gaze if he caught Kasumi doing anything that he shouldn't really see but he could see Kasumi peacefully lying in bed, with all the poise and serenity she maintained in the waking world. He smiled at the sight and decided not to wake the sleeping girl as he felt that everybody, Kasumi especially, deserved the occasional lie in.

His smile was still on his face as he turned back from the door, gently closing it as quietly as he had opened it. That proved to be a mistake as he only turned around to see a certain blue-haired recluse staring at him in a blank slate of an expression; ready to be turned into anger, shock, confusion or an of the other multitude of less-than-friendly possibilities. This time even Ranma could see the cause, he was walking away from Kasumi's room, quietly closing the door with a smile on his face. It didn't paint the best picture and while any of those misconceptions were unfounded he could at least see the girl's thought process this time.

Some would have found it hard to believe that seeing somebody so angry, that they are willing to hit, you could come as a relief. It was true all the same; Ranma was unbelievably happy to see Akane at least back to her old self, even he admitted that this was better than the shy, quiet girl she had somehow become. However something strange happened in Ranma's mind as the mallet descended on him, almost in slow motions from the way his thoughts were racing, not to mention just how fast his reflexes were anyway.

He realised that he still had to finish the cooking. He also realised that, like with Ukyo, he could finally talk to Akane. There was also the fact that, once halfway across Tokyo, doing all three of those things would become considerably more difficult. He stopped the hammer a few inches from his face, so close that it actually took Akane a moment to realise that she hadn't quite hit the part of Ranma she had been aiming for.

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

Ranma sighed deeply and he covered his eyes briefly with his hands. "Akane, I don't have time for this. I need to finish breakfast."

She huffed loudly and defiantly crossed her arms over her chest. "I could finish it easily!"

He opened his mouth to say something quite derogatory but managed to stop himself. He was trying to help after all, not earn himself a free ticket on Air Akane. As he stood there for a few seconds he began realising why his immediate reaction to most things Akane says were insults; it was actually quite difficult to think of things to say to her. He wondered if he had realised that sooner then he could have put more effort in and found a life with her after all. But once again he stopped dwelling on the past, Kasumi's words proving useful yet again.

"Look Akane, before you jump to conclusions I was just checking on Kasumi." Akane's brow furrowed and her eyes flashed between suspicion over Ranma's words and concern for her sister's possible illness or injury. She lowered the hammer, a shy look coming across her face.

"W-What's wrong with Kasumi?"

He smiled._ 'So this is how conversations could have gone' _He looked at her comfortingly. "Nothing, she's just sleeping. I was making the breakfast, noticed she wasn't down yet, and came up to check on her."

She looked at him, a hint of anger and suspicion flashing just briefly across her eyes before her head lowered again, returning to the meek, apologetic pose. "That was nice of you Ranma."

He smiled again, a little unsure, after the shock of her words wore off. He looked at her, back to this newer, meek and shy Akane; even after he had hope when she tried to mallet him. He still felt the pangs of guilt, like this was all his fault, and he wanted desperately to make it up to Akane somehow. The problem was he didn't even really know what he was making up for. An idea came to him, it would be risky of course but it might be just what she needed after everything.

"Hey Akane, do you want to come help with the breakfast?" Her eyes lit up with sudden hope but it was quickly suppressed as her usual attitude overcame her.

"Why? So you can just call it 'disgusting' or 'toxic'?" He smiled, glad that she was acting like her old self again.

"Nah, I just like a challenge." He left her with that as he bounded down the stairs but not before quickly shouting back. "So are you coming to help or what?" Initially she wanted to be angry as she puzzled out his words, trying to find the insult in them but her glee of cooking overcame her and she raced after him; the first smile on her face for weeks.

For the next half an hour Ranma watched Akane cook with interest, curiosity, and concern. He wondered how, learning from Kasumi herself, she had managed to become such a terrible cook. It was almost like she was pouring her frustrations and anger into the food, which was in turn turning it sour and rotten. Cooking needed to be filled with patience, care and enjoyment, or at least that's what Kasumi always seemed to imply. More than a few times he found himself telling her to slow down or move slower.

"What do you mean slow down? What difference does it make how fast I go?" He furrowed his brow, trying to find the same answer Kasumi had given him when he had asked the very same question.

"A recipe isn't just about ingredients in an order, it tells you everything you have to do, including time." Akane was about to retort when she realised it was just like something that Kasumi might say and Ranma was just quoting her. Knowing that arguing with him would technically mean arguing with Kasumi she closed her mouth and returned to the work, slower this time. There were more than a few instances of these conversations.

"Um Akane, I know you're trying to speed things up but cooking something for ten minutes at one hundred and sixty degrees isn't the same thing as cooking it for five minutes at three hundred and twenty."

"Um Akane, that's baking soda, not sugar."

"Um Akane, there's no paprika in the oatmeal recipe."

"Um Akane-"

"What?!" The blue haired girl turned furiously to her impromptu tutor, annoyed at all these interruptions for things she didn't think were that important. He just grinned sheepishly and pointed to the oven where a light was flashing.

"You're done" She looked at him a little shocked, she had actually finished cooking an entire meal; albeit one that Ranma had started but nevertheless she still felt proud at her accomplishment. After she took the food out of the oven she beamed happily as he walked over to the food, noting that it did indeed look like food, edible food to boot. He tentatively leaned over to taste some, watching Akane's nervous anticipation with barely held back mirth; he couldn't help but draw parallels between this moment and the first time he had cooked with Kasumi.

With a delighted chuckle he found that the food wasn't too bad, some was burnt just a little or slightly undercooked but it was food, followed to the letter. He smiled at her and nodded, thinking it could be a bad idea to toy around with her at this point. She startled him by giving a happy yelp, jumping into the air a little and rushing forward to pull him into a hug. He was as startled as she was when she realised just what she had done and who with; she immediately leapt back, nervously looking away from him before grabbing some of the food and hurriedly running out of the kitchen to lay the table.

He smiled, not used to such an affectionate interaction with Akane yet not completely disliking the sensation. The ones with Kasumi were better he surmised but still, not too bad; especially from somebody he least expected it from. He wiped the smile from his face as he didn't want Akane to take it the wrong way and walked out to sit in his place at the table. It wouldn't be long before the family came wandering in but until then Akane and Ranma were left in an awkward silence, thankfully before it became too unbearable they heard the sound of bare feet hurriedly running across the landing and down the stairs.

An out of breath and panting Kasumi rushed through the door into the dining area where she stared red-cheeked and incredulously at the two teenagers patiently waiting for everybody to arrive. She immediately noticed the change for the better in her sister and was glad the worst of her mood was over; she also saw Ranma acting confusedly but still no less happy and realised he had something to do with it. She wondered what he could have done before she noticed the state the food was in; it was rather poor for something Ranma might cook but given Akane's beaming face she quickly realised what had happened.

"Akane the food looks very nice." Both teens were mildly shocked at how quickly Kasumi had worked it out, but Ranma less so. He already knew that the older girl had amazing insights into such things and was only pleased when she proved it yet again. She happily sat down in her own spot, looking in thought over something but quickly snapped out of it when she saw Ranma stare curiously. She smiled at him to show it was nothing serious and before he had a chance to find out any more the father's and Nabiki walked in.

Ranma realised he would have to act quickly before anybody tried the food and told him it was below his usual standard. Akane would quickly take offense and everything he had managed to achieve with her this morning would have been for nothing. He noticed the two fathers, especially his own, about to dig into the food and acted on impulse. It was something he thought he wouldn't be doing any more but considering the situation and the result, he forgave himself.

"Hey everyone, aren't you going to thank Akane for the food?" That definitely got everybody to stop, even Genma who was halfway to bringing some rice to his mouth. Soun looked worriedly between Kasumi and Ranma, trying to find who was to blame for his ruined breakfast but before his daughter noticed the pause he looked wearily over to Akane.

"Thank you Akane dear" Well at least now everybody knew it was Akane's so Ranma happily dug into his own food. It certainly wasn't gourmet but Ranma wasn't all that a fussy eater; especially after having to put up with the food his father occasionally cooked. Before that everybody had been looking at the possible environmental hazard as if they were going to be ill from even picking it up. After watching Ranma of all people start to eat it, with no side effects of any kind, they lost their reservations and tentatively began to eat.

Breakfast actually moved along fairly smoothly due to Akane being in an indomitable good mood over seeing her family genuinely enjoy her cooking. It had been one of her dreams ever since her mother passed away to be more like Kasumi and had finally achieved that in some small part. With a blush she realised it had been only because of Ranma's help; she gave him a sparing glance only to see him also happily eating. For some reason his, as well as Kasumi's, acceptance of her food made her happier than the rest of the family's reactions and it confused her a little.

She was saddened when it was over and everybody had eaten their plate's clean but happy at the same time. It was rare for someone to take more than one bite of her food, never mind finishing it and she practically glowed from the unspoken praise. She retired back to her room happy and smiling, she picked up the phone and called Sayuri; the girl seemed shocked but pleasantly cheerful to hear from her friend and soon they were making plans. Akane wanted her good day to continue and after cooking she somehow knew that the only way that was going to happen was if she made it that way.

* * *

The streets of Nerima were a hive of activity, even relatively early in the morning as it was a Sunday. There were all varieties of people running to and fro or just milling about. He grew tired of the endless weaving through crowds and finally just jumped up onto the rooftops; surprising a few birds as well as a few onlookers. He sighted happily as he was allowed to move unrestricted, even if it was just at a leisurely stroll. It was far from his usual fast paced flight across the skyline but today he was neither running from something of after someone.

However that didn't mean he wasn't heading to a destination and his feet took him to Ucchan's quicker than he would have thought at the pace he had set. He gulped nervously looking at the sign; he remembered Ukyo's reaction to his presence and still didn't even know what that was all about. All he could do was hope she had either calmed down, forgiven him or was in a slightly better mood to talk in. He steeled his nerves and walked through the door frame, glancing around even though he had immediately spotted the young waitress in her customary position behind the grill.

"Hey sugar, welcome to Okonomiyaki Ucch-" She froze mid-sentence as she saw him and they both stared at each other for a while. Ranma didn't want to be the first to speak as he didn't know what mood she was in and he thought, like Akane, she might take his words wrong. She was wrestling with her various emotions; namely guilt, anger, frustration, sadness and confusion. Looking at the boy in front of her she felt all of these rush to the surface at once and fight it out for dominance in her thoughts.

She seemed to come to some kind of conclusion as she almost visibly deflated before him, actually worrying the young martial artist. He walked over, feeling a little more confident now that she hadn't immediately tried to throw him out. He sat in the stool in front of her but she still averted her gaze from his. He couldn't know but it was the guilt over her actions, not just last night but in general, that had won out and now it was hitting her full force. She wouldn't cry, not in front of Ranma, but the overwhelming emotion was taking its toll, removing her ability to speak for the moment.

"Uh hey Ukyo, how ya feeling?" Again he couldn't know but by dropping the affectionate suffix she felt like a knife, that she could almost physically feel, was sliding slowly into her heart. He had only done so because he wasn't sure in what way she would take any hint of affection right now. When she didn't answer he only grew more worried, even if he did breathe a silent breath of relief as he had at least figured out that whatever this was, it wasn't anger.

"Uh Ukyo, I just wanted to say that about a few days ago, well... I'm sor-"

"NO!" She cut him off by nearly screaming it out, frightening Ranma as well as a few customers who, until now, had been enjoying the quiet morning with a delicious okonomiyaki. "Please Ranma don't say you're sorry!" She practically vaulted over the counter, nearly landing on him as she wrapped him into a hug even as tears leaked from her eyes. "I should be apologizing!" And she did, softly whispering that she was sorry into her chest as the tears continued to flow in a steady stream.

Ranma could only stand there in moderate shock, in none of the mental scenarios he had run through his mind had this come up. Even if it had he still didn't think he would have expected it; as it was he could barely believe it was happening. He looked down at the weeping girl, lightly stroking her hair and wondering how he had yet again come into this situation. He was far from his comfort zone, even if he had done nearly the same thing last night, and he could only stand, stare and stroke until finally Ukyo dried her tears.

She parted from him, realising she had held the hug too long. She was also wondering just why he had actually let her, Ranma would normally never allow one of his fiancées be this close to him. With an involuntary sigh she realised it was because he knew he wasn't betraying Kasumi and that just made her want the tears to flow anew. Ranma preempted her, sensing the turn for the worse and quickly pulled her head up to look at his own.

"Ucchan what's going on?" She sobbed and he feared he was too late but she sobered slightly with his strong gaze for strength.

"I saw you on your date with Kasumi" Ranma winced inside _'Who hasn't heard?' _"I was going to help Shampoo but I couldn't do it, I'm so sorry." He looked back at her from his own internal monologue and furrowed his brow.

"What do you mean help Shampoo?" Ukyo froze, being caught like a deer in headlights; although to her it was more like an ant in front of a bulldozer. She went slightly limp and only managed to keep her gaze with the pigtailed teen because his gaze held her transfixed.

"Me and Shampoo..." She tried to look away guiltily but her body was frozen in place, unable to move "...we were going to sabotage your date." She finally broke the contact as Ranma looked away from her, seemingly in thought and Ukyo was allowed to drop her head in shame at last. She heard him mumble something about water and a cat and she looked back up, only to be once again staring into his cobalt blue eyes. He stared at her with a mixture of concern and slight betrayal, a look worse than anything he could have possibly said.

"But I didn't do it! I walked away once I realised..." She trailed off, unable to continue her rant as if she said it out loud there would be no going back, she would once and for all confirm her feelings. However this inner turmoil over her next words went unnoticed by Ranma. Or if he did he wasn't showing it as he continued the same look, only with expectance now mixed in. She wilted under that gaze he said nothing but it was evident he wanted her to continue and she sighed, loudly.

"...Once I realised that you were happy with Kasumi." He took a step back from the surprise, he hadn't been expecting that answer and as he looked at the girl in front of him, now looking at the ground, feelings threw his mind into chaos. He realised that her words must have been difficult to say, especially as a rival for his affections. He also still felt anger and disappointment over her involvement in the attempted sabotage, something he was going to have to talk to Shampoo about now.

However if he could forgive Shampoo for all her past 'crimes' then in his heart he knew he could forgive Ukyo for this. In fact he should have been proud of her for walking away like that, it was the biggest change he had seen in her in two years and it made him... happy. He couldn't explain the feeling but just seeing Ukyo finally take his feelings into consideration before acting lightened him inside, pushing out anything negative he felt. He was about to tell her of his forgiveness when she cut him off as she grew anxious during his silence.

"Please Ranma, I know I don't deserve it but I don't want to lose you, even as a friend." She dropped to her knees in front of him, now openly weeping again. "Please?" it was barely a whisper but Ranma still heard it. The crying girl then felt something she expected the least. Two strong and powerful but gentle arms wrapped around her shoulders, drawing her closer into the teen who had initiated the contact. He slowly stood up; bringing her with him, still locked in the hug and he broke it only when her crying stopped.

"Ranchan?" She looked up into his face; he was smiling a small but comforting smile that immediately told her everything was going to be alright.

"Ukyo I forgive you, for everything. Please don't cry" While it was his usual line when presented with a crying girl, this time it was far from in his normal tone. Instead of the frantic, nervous, and overwhelmed boy he was speaking as a calm but gentle young adult. His words were like a cure for Ukyo's ail and her tears stopped immediately, brightening his smile a little. She tried her own, weaker smile but wasn't ready yet, only managing to brighten her eyes ever so slightly which was enough for Ranma's worries to lessen.

"Thank you Ranma, I don't know how to repay-" He stopped her with a raised hand and a warm smile.

"There's nothing you need to do. You're my friend and I don't want to lose you either." Finally she managed the smile and Ranma relaxed.

"I'm happy for you and Kasumi. I want you to know that." She was completely sincere. While her love for Ranma was near undying, the happiness he felt only made her feel better; even if that happiness was coming from somebody other than her. It disappointed her that she couldn't do the same but she was nonetheless appreciative, if not completely thankful of Kasumi.

"I know." He smiled again and her own grew, if only slightly. He was about to go, to give her time to collect herself and clean up; she might not have worn much make-up but what was there was streaked down her face in small rivulets. She stopped him on impulse by grabbing his wrist and he turned curiously.

"Ranma, would you kiss me?" He looked ready to protest and speak but she quickly rushed ahead. "Please? I just want to know what it feels like, just once." His words caught in his throat as he looked down at the dejected girl who merely hung her head in defeat, knowing that her one request would be denied. She couldn't help it; she wouldn't have been able to live with herself if she hadn't asked just onc-

Suddenly she felt herself tugged forward by those same strong arms and her lips were caught in an embrace they wouldn't soon forget. It was like fire from the point of contact and the young woman melted into the embrace, even if it only lasted for a second before Ranma pulled away. He looked highly unsure of himself as he pondered whether or not that was the right thing to do but the look on Ukyo's face had given his heart no choice. He looked at her; there was no goofy or love-struck grin which was good, instead she seemed to think about the kiss as deeply as he just had.

"Thank you Ranma." Her voice was quiet and small but he felt some of her old resolve return to the word and he nodded solemnly. She turned away from him and walked back around the grill in silence, still in deep thought and he took that as his cue to leave. At least one good thing had come about from that kiss, Ranma knew that he never again wanted to do it with anybody but Kasumi. The last few days were really starting to take their toll on his body and mind so he looked forward to going home and seeing the older girl. _'Oh... and spending the rest of my life with her'_


	16. Epilogue

White. That would be the word Ranma would use to describe his wedding day. Everywhere he looked, there was white flowers, white tables, white paper covering the ground, and more. It was almost painful to look at and if it wasn't for the smatterings of colour introduced by the guest' clothing and the more natural hues of the grass and trees around them he might have believed he was dead. As it was, this day was still heaven for the pigtailed teen-turned-man. He was delightfully reminded of this fact as gentle music began flowing across the area and everybody's attention, including his own, turned towards the rear of the congregation.

There was a communal gasp of shock and awe as Kasumi emerged from the house, flanked by her father. For his daughter's wedding day he was holding himself together remarkably well. Not a single tear leaked from his eyes although both of his other daughters were on stand-by if it were to happen. He was dressed formally in a crisp kimono and managed to look almost regal as he proudly walked down the aisle with his daughter's arm laced in his own.

Of course Ranma's eyes barely glanced at the older man. His eyes were firmly fixed on the vision of beauty that accompanied him. In the five years since their relationship began in full and to a lesser extent the two years before that, Ranma had known she was more beautiful than anybody else he had known. However even that didn't prepare him for the angel that now gracefully glided down the parting between the guests.

She was wearing the traditional Japanese wedding kimono with the flawless white garments covering most of her body yet they managed to accent it in a way that only brought up memories for Ranma; good ones. Even with her face covered by the hood Ranma could pick out the gleaming smile the graced her lips as well as the matching shine in her eyes. The edges of her hair just peaked out from under the same hood and it flowed about her like a stream of living bronze.

He broke his gaze from her visage to look around him one last time. To his left was Ukyo, rather ironically his best man. For a long time Ranma had believed it might be Ryoga to fill that role but in the last few years the two men had only drifted apart. Anyway Ranma felt far safer and in better hands with his best and oldest friend standing stoically by his side. There had been a few nervous moments before the actual wedding but luckily Ukyo wasn't forced to fulfill the best man's obligation of 'keeping the groom from running away'.

She was wearing a western style suit of her own choosing despite Ranma assuring her a dress would be adequate. In the last few years she had mostly overcome her problems with her identity as a woman yet breaking the habit of her clothing preference was another issue entirely. Getting Ukyo to wear a dress willingly was like trying to make a snake fit into trousers, the two just didn't go together. Even so in her very male clothing Ukyo was still a beautiful young woman and she now knew this.

He looked to the other side of the altar where Akane, Nabiki, and Shampoo were all standing with equally jealous and happy faces at the still-approaching bride. They all had their most beautiful dresses on as Kasumi was appalled at the idea of the bridesmaids wearing dresses purposefully made to make them less attractive then the bride. It wasn't like it mattered to Ranma; nothing anybody could have done would convince him Kasumi wasn't the most beautiful woman in the world.

That wasn't to say Shampoo didn't make a good attempt at it. Far from the normal Japanese formal wear Shampoo was clothed in an elegant and form-fitting red and gold Chinese dress with a long slit in the leg. Her hair was tied up in an inordinately complicated style that made Ranma dizzy trying to follow it. In the seven years he had known the buxom Amazon she had undergone drastic changes, both physically and mentally. Instead of the cute teenager who could melt a man's heart and soul with a smile of a wink she had developed into a mature and beautiful woman.

That wasn't the only change that had occurred, seven years also did wonders for her vocabulary and Ranma almost had difficulty remembering her old broken speech patterns. Her mastery of the Japanese language was remarkable and she spoke as fluently, without accent, as a native. Her personality had also moulded from its old one-track mind of 'obstacle is for killing' into something much more compassionate and accommodating. That wasn't to say she lost that ruthless and mischievous streak that identified her and made her unique.

His gaze drifted over to Akane. Shampoo wasn't the only one to have changed over the time and one look at his former fiancée was enough to tell anybody that. Her old puppy-fat was gone leaving a remarkably lithe and tall young woman with long hair, yet one could still see the tonnage and definition bred from her extensive martial arts training that gave her an innocent, yet powerful presence. Like everybody here Ranma could only be glad that they had managed to remain friends in all of this time and she would continue to be somebody dear to him.

Nabiki on the other hand, Ranma chuckled silently in his head. Nabiki hadn't changed one bit. She had warmed up to him considerably in the time they spent together which, admittedly, was limited thanks to her hectic work life. However she still maintained that calculating and penetrating demeanour that had earned her a reputation to be feared and respected in the business world. She had at first been very protective of her older sister when it came to relationships but all Ranma needed to break that was time and evidence of his real feelings towards Kasumi.

Speaking of whom, his fiancée had finally made it up to the altar with him and with a great deal of reluctance Soun left the pair, finally on the verge of tears as his younger daughters looked on in worry. However he maintained himself long enough to sit in his seat beside Genma and Nodoka, the latter helping him by offering a handkerchief which was promptly soaked as the flood gates were opened. Thankfully he kept the wails to a minimum as the priest began his speech; it was on the virtues of youth and love but Ranma tuned it out, instead opting to simply gaze in awe at his beautiful fiancée, who shyly smiled back, unused to having this much attention on her.

Suddenly Ranma found everybody's eyes on him and he looked about curiously until he saw Ukyo offering him the ring. He took it with a sheepish grin and placed it carefully on Kasumi's delicate left ring finger. For her part she stared at the small golden band as if it were made of solid diamond and her face lit up in kind. She proceeded to place Ranma's ring on his own left ring finger and was met with a similar gaze of wonder and incredulity.

He managed to gather his wits long enough to proudly and confidently announce his 'I do' and allowed Kasumi to do the same. He took one last lingering moment to look at his fiancée for the last time because as he reached in to passionately kiss her he realised with ill-contained mirth that he would never be able to call her that again. He leant back out again to a round of cheers from the spectators and guests, most of whom he could call a close friend. He opened his eyes and for the very first time he looked at his wife.

* * *

The celebrations were in full swing at the Tendo household. Despite Ranma's kind-hearted protests on the matter Soun had insisted the ceremony and reception were held there. Now he was glad that it was; the wedding was beautiful and the reception was entertaining. Of course Ranma was consistently miffed that at any point he wanted to speak to his new wife he would be immediately turned around and forced to converse with somebody knew about 'how excited he was' or 'that he didn't know what he had gotten into'.

All in all it meant he had seen very little of Kasumi since the two of them had been rushed inside after the ceremony. From what he had seen from his limited sightings of her she was receiving the exact same treatment. However she had her sisters to help her fend off the worst of it; that didn't mean they weren't partially to blame. Akane was especially bad, constantly and excitedly asking her sister a never-ending stream of questions.

As Ranma was attempting another break for his love he was once again cordoned off by somebody insistent on speaking to the new husband. He briefly wondered if he was being punished for briefly catching a glimpse of Kasumi before the wedding. He turned with a barely contained sigh to find that the hand that had restrained him by the shoulder belonged to one wrinkled and elderly Amazon.

"Congratulations Ranma, I suppose I can officially stop calling you son-in-law." He smiled, ever since he and Shampoo became friends and nothing more his relationship with Cologne had turned into more of a student-teacher situation. Even so, he respected and admired the woman now that she wasn't trying every hare-brained scheme to fix him up with her kin. "You know it's not too late. Polygamy isn't entirely looked down upon in our village."

He chuckled and she did the same, this was mostly what their conversations consisted of, light-natured banter and occasional one-upsmanship. He feigned a thoughtful look for a moment as if he were honestly considering it but shrugged nonchalantly.

"Even I don't have that much stamina," He winked and playfully added in "Old Ghoul." If anything else the name had become a term of endearment and the older woman just chuckled.

"Yes well, can't blame an old gal for trying." He smiled, enjoying this slice of normality on such a hectic and life-changing day. "Anyway I shan't keep you much longer, I'm sure you're..." She looked over at Kasumi, still locked in a hopeless attempt at breaking away from her sisters and various female friends "...itching to spend some _time _with your wife." The casual way she said it made Ranma smile, hearing Kasumi being called his wife as if they had been so for many years made it seem so natural and he shot the old woman a look of thanks which she returned with a curt nod before hopped off to see what trouble Happosai was getting up to.

Of course similar attempts to finally talk with his wife were blocked in much the same way until before he knew it, hours had passed and it was beginning to get dark. People were starting to trickle home, more than a few of them tipsy or drunk. With a smile he saw Akari lead Ryoga away for their home, which she would have been doing anyway but Ryoga didn't exactly look steady on his feet. Briefly Ranma wondered what exactly it took to get Ryoga drunk, he hardy screamed 'lightweight' with his well-built physique that had only increased with time.

Finally the last of the guests trickled out the door muttering warm goodbyes or waving merrily, some sloppily, at the newlyweds and their families. Soun closed the door on the last of them, Shampoo and her Great-Grandmother, before turning and slid down exhausted to the floor. It was a tiring day for everybody, not just the freshly reinforced couple and it showed. Even so, Akane looked about ready to drag Kasumi off for more excited talking before Nodoka placed a restraining but gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Now now Akane; this is Ranma and Kasumi's day. You can't hold them apart _all_ night, nor should you." The younger girl smiled sheepishly before nodding and bidding the rest of her family a good night. The years had done wonders with Akane's personality, as well as more than a few trips to Yuhi. The result was a far more calm and collected Akane that wasn't quite as willing to fly of the handle at a moment's notice. Her cooking had also improved with the attitude adjustment. Ranma just smiled gratefully at his mother who in turn giving him a knowing and cheeky wink which made him more nervous than he cared to admit.

Before absolutely anything else could go wrong or interrupt the pair Ranma lifted Kasumi into his arms bridal style, now much more appropriate, and carried her off with speed few could even follow with their eyes. He ran straight out of the house and up to their favourite spot on the roof. Even after they had gotten their own apartment, then house, this roof always brought back good memories for the pair. It was where they had spent the majority of their early relationship, talking, sharing and... other things.

She had already shucked the weighty and constricting ceremonial robes for a more lightweight dress. It was white and like their first date so long ago now it flowed around her as it the wind itself was just trying to get closer to her. He smiled and she smiled back, both genuine and loving and both very much free of their past troubles. It had taken a long time and a lot of effort but Kasumi had managed to leave her family to finally venture out and live her own life.

In their relationship few words needed to be said as a thousand words could be spoken with a single glance between them, that wasn't to say they didn't enjoy their long talks out on their roof or in their bedroom or on one of their many, many dates that Ranma refused to stop. They both enjoyed each other's company and no matter what they were talking about they could find meaning and pleasure in it. Now it was just official; Ranma looked at the small, innocent enough ring on his finger, such a simple object that held such meaning and power.

He looked up smiling and took the hand she had her ring on in his own, they clinked together and Ranma immediately knew he would never get tired of hearing that sound and his gentle smile increased. They spent a good deal of time up there, thinking, planning and most of all just enjoying each other's company. That was until Kasumi gave her new husband a mischievous glance that told him all he needed to know about what his wedding night was going to really be like.

For once Ranma decided to re-evaluate his assessment of something; he decided to change the one word to describe his wedding day; perfect.

* * *

**Well, thanks for reading my story, I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. :)**

**On a side note I'm looking for a beta for my next story which will be a Naruto/Anko pairing with smatterings of FemKyuubi. So PM me if you're interested.**


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